Chinese trio dominates global smartphone market: 2.6b devices shipped

Chinese smartphone vendors Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo have seen their sales skyrocket over the years, becoming serious competition to the two largest players in the market, iPhone and Samsung.

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According to data presented by Stocklytics.com, the three smartphone vendors have collectively shipped more than 2.6 billion devices in a decade.

Annual Shipments Surged by more than 460%

Chinese smartphone vendors Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo have come a long way from where they were ten years ago. Back in 2014, they were just minor names in the smartphone industry, and now they make up practically one-third of global smartphone sales. There are many reasons for that.

All three Chinese smartphone vendors are known for their aggressive pricing, offering high-specification phones at lower prices, which makes them especially attractive in emerging markets where cost is a significant factor. Also, they have managed to draw new users with strong ecosystems integrating smartphones with their other smart devices. Finally, the tensions between Western countries and China have fueled their sales in the domestic market, one of the largest smartphone markets globally. As a result, the three vendors have seen their annual shipments skyrocket.

According to Statista and IDC data, Xiaomi shipped around 47 million smartphones in 2024, while the sales figures for Oppo and Vivo remain unknown. When all three vendors revealed their sales figures a year later, the annual shipments hit over 135 million. Three years later, that 135 million turned into 255 million, and by the end of 2022, the yearly shipments increased by a further 23% and hit 316 million.

Statistics show that 2021 remains the record year for Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo sales, with their combined shipments skyrocketing to almost 453 million. Although this figure significantly dropped in 2022 and 2023, triggered by the plunging sales in the broader market, the three vendors still sold 270 million of their devices, 460% more than ten years ago.

According to shipment figures for the first half of the year, 2024 could become one of the best years for their smartphone sales, with the combined shipments reaching 180 million in H1, or 21 million more than in the same period last year. Statistics show Xiaomi saw the biggest shipments growth. During the six months of the year, the Chinese number one smartphone manufacturer sold 83.1 million devices, or 30% more than the same period of 2023. Vivo shipments increased by 10%, from 42.5 million to 46.7 million.

Market Share Tripled in Ten Years

With billions of their devices shipped in the past ten years, Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo have become major names in the smartphone landscape, and their market share figures prove this.

Back in 2025, the tech giant Samsung generated around 25% of global smartphone sales, while Apple held 18% of the market. The top three Chinese vendors had a combined 9.3% market share that year. Since then, their market share has tripled and hit 32.9% in Q2 2024.

However, the rise of Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo caused a drop in market share for the two largest smartphone brands, Samsung and Apple. Statistics show Samsung`s market share dropped from 25% to roughly 19% in this period. Apple follows with a much less 2.2% drop and a 15.8% market share in Q2 2024.