Chinese smartphone Xiaomi was the second-largest selling smartphone in the second quarter, topping Apple in sales for the first time.

Xiaomi had a 17% share of the market, surpassing Apple's 14%. Industry leader Samsung held on to the top spot at 19%, but Xiaomi is closing the gap.

The average selling price of a Xiaomi phone is about 40% to 75% cheaper compared to Samsung and Apple, according to Canalys Market Researcher Ben Stanton.

“Xiaomi is growing the overseas business rapidly,” Stanton said. The Chinese smartphones shipments are up 83% in the past year compared to 15% for Samsung, and just 1% for Apple. However, Apple is set to launch its new iPhone13 series this fall.

The Beijing-based company’s biggest priority this year is to increase the sales of its high-end devices. Earlier this year it released the Mi 11 Ultra, a high-quality smartphone costing $928, or 5,999 yuan. It also launched the Mi Mix Fold, the company’s first foldable smartphone, coming in at 9,999 yuan.

Xiaomi’s biggest competitors Oppo and Vivo are also trying to break through the same market.”It will be a tough battle with Oppo and Vivo sharing the same objective, and both willing to spend big on above-the-line marketing to build their brands in a way Xiaomi is not,” Stanton said.

All vendors are currently fighting to secure component supply amid global shortages, but Xiaomi’s greatest ambition right now is to knock off Samsung as the world’s largest smartphone supplier.

Xiaomi has benefited from the recent struggles of Huawei, which was once the largest smartphone supplier in the world. However, sanctions imposed by the US have made it increasingly hard for Huawei to acquire the necessary supplies like software and microchips, causing its sales to decline.

Xiaomi is looking to launch its next project as the company announced in March that it will begin an electric vehicle business with plans to invest $10 billion over the next 10 years.

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