The Discover.film app will be integrated into Mi Video, Xiaomi’s video platform, as a pre-installed app on more than 10m handsets in Spain and France, before being added to devices across Italy and Germany by the end of the year and rolled out globally in 2021.

“We are thrilled to announce that today Discover.film launches as one of our premium video content partners in France and Spain,” said Li Xiang, Head of Mi Video at Xiaomi. “Discover.film has some of the best quality short movies with an extensive library of award-winning films from all around the world. This collaboration supports our global strategy to bring the best video experience to our valued customers providing them with more choice than ever before, we are looking forward to a long and fruitful partnership with Discover.film.”

The Discover.film platform is home to movies, which are typically between 10-15 minutes in duration, starring the likes of Danny DeVito, Sir Ian McKellen, Olivia Coleman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jack Whitehall, Bill Nighy, Brie Larson, and Whoopi Goldberg.

“We are delighted to have been chosen by Xiaomi as their premium ‘short’ entertainment partner for Mi Video. We are looking forward to Xiaomi customers enjoying our award-winning films in the discover.film ecosystem and building upon our mission to make quality ‘short’ movies mainstream, accessible to everyone, anytime, anywhere and on any device they choose,” said Sarah Thomson, CEO and Founder of Discover.film. “Xiaomi is an exciting new partner to add to our growing portfolio that already includes; British Airways, Qatar Airways, American Airlines, Emirates, Air Canada, Samsung TV Plus, Huawei Video, My5 with more partners to be announced in the coming weeks and months”

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The handset maker that appeared to suffer the most in the period was Samsung, according to Gartner. The South Korean tech giant saw the largest decline in sales among the top five smartphone makers, seeing its sales slip by 27.1 per cent from Q2 2019 to 55m. Despite this, it still – just about – kept its place as the number one smartphone vendor.

“The COVID-19 pandemic continued to negatively affect Samsung’s performance in the second quarter of 2020,” said Anshul Gupta, Senior Research Director at Gartner. “Demand for its flagship S Series smartphones did little to revive its smartphone sales globally.”

Huawei, though seeing its YoY sales drop by 6.8 per cent to 54m, came pretty close to Samsung in the race for the number one spot. Quarter-over-quarter, it experienced growth of 27.4 per cent.

“Huawei’s performance in China helped it avoid a worse quarterly performance,” added Gupta. “Huawei extended its lead in China where it captured 42.6 per cent of China’s smartphone market in the second quarter of 2020. Huawei put in place an aggressive product introduction and sales promotion in China in particular and benefited from the strong support of communications services providers for its 5G smartphones.”

Apple suffered the least out of the top handset makers, only sliding 0.4 per cent to 38m compared to Q2 2019. The fourth and fifth biggest vendors, Xiaomi and Oppo, suffered declines of 21.5 per cent and 15.9 per cent respectively.

“Apple’s iPhone sales fared better in the quarter than most smartphone vendors in the market and also grew sales quarter-over-quarter,” said Annette Zimmermann, Research Vice President at Gartner. “The improved business environment in China helped Apple achieve growth in the country. In addition, the introduction of the new iPhone SE encouraged users of older phones upgrade their smartphones.”

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Chinese smartphone makers – mostly Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, Realme, and Huawei – were responsible for 19m of the 30.7m units shipped during the quarter, meaning there was a 50 per cent year-over-year (YoY) growth for the Chinese brands. The 30.7m overall shipments represented a modest growth of two per cent over the same quarter last year, following several quarters of decline.

“Southeast Asia is popular for new brands, as the chances of success are higher than in other parts of the world,” said Canalys analyst Matthew Xie.

South Korean brand Samsung sold 7.7m units to claim the individual top spot, up five per cent YoY after three quarters of decline. Oppo was a close second with 7.3m units sold – its best-ever quarter performance and a growth of 49 per cent. Vivo remained third, shipping 4.1m handsets, while Xiaomi moved up into fourth place with its 3.7m units sold. Realme entered the top five for the first time, shipping 1.6m smartphones, despite only being in Southeast Asia for three quarters. This meant that Huawei fell out of the top five as its various international struggles continue.

“Samsung is fighting back in Southeast Asia, where its leadership position has been challenged by Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi,” said Xie. “Samsung chose Thailand to host the global launch event for its latest A series, to show the strategic importance of Southeast Asia.”

Research analyst Shengtao Jin added: “Oppo is moving aggressively to overtake Samsung as the leader in Southeast Asia. Spinning off the Realme operation last year has allowed the brand to expand aggressively in many markets… Together, Oppo and Realme have already exceeded Samsung’s shipments in this region. But, given Oppo’s top-selling devices remain its A5s and A3s, it is still facing challenges when trying to position itself as a high-end alternative to Samsung. The launch of the Reno series in June, plus its significant marketing spend, will be vital for Oppo’s attempt to break into the premium market, but it is still too early to see results.”

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Wrist-worn wearables continue to dominate the market, accounting for a 63.2 per cent share. However, ear-worn devices experienced the fastest growth (135.1 per cent) and accounted for 34.6 per cent of all wearables shipped – much of this can be attributed to Apple’s AirPods.

“The elimination of headphone jacks and the increased usage of smart assistants both inside and outside the home have been driving factors in the growth of ear-worn wearables,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC mobile device trackers. “Looking ahead, this will become an increasingly important category as major platform and device makers use ear-worn devices as an on-ramp to entice consumers into an ecosystem of wearable devices that complement the smartphone but also offer the ability to leave the phone behind when necessary.”

Apple is still dominant the force in the wearable market, thanks to its Apple Watch, AirPods, and select Beats headphones. The company shipped 12.8m units in Q1 2019, representing a 25.8 per cent market share and year-over-year (YoY) growth of 49.5 per cent. Despite the growth, it actually suffered a one per cent decline in market share.

Xiaomi picked up the second spot in the list, thanks to the popularity of its Mi Band, which accounted for around 5m of its 6.6m wearable sales. This gave it a 13.3 per cent market share, gaining Apple’s lost one per cent, and growth of 68.2 per cent.

Third spot was taken by Xiaomi’s Chinese counterpart, Huawei. The company, which is facing a host of international problems over security concerns, recorded a massive 282.2 per cent growth in sales, jumping from 1.3m in Q1 2018 to 5m in Q1 2019. Its market share also leaped from 4.1 per cent to 10 per cent.

Samsung picked up fourth spot with 4.3m sales, jumping 151.6 per cent, while Fitbit shipped 2.9m units.

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Overall, Samsung kept its place at the top of the standing, shipping 61.6m units. However, the South Korean electronics giant saw its shipments fall 10 per cent. Apple also remained in second spot, but saw shipments fall six per cent to 42.8m.

Not far behind Apple was the standout performer, Huawei. The Chinese vendor, which has had its fair share of political issues, grew 54 per cent to ship 42.5m units. Following this, there were also strong showings for Xiaomi and HMD Global – the company now behind Nokia – in fourth and fifth respectively.

“The political situation between Chinese companies and the US government has benefited European consumers,” said Ben Stanton, senior analyst at Canalys. “The US administration is causing Chinese companies to invest in Europe over the US. The European market is mature, and the replacement rates have lengthened, but there is an opportunity for Chinese brands to displace the market incumbents. The likes of Huawei and Xiaomi bring price competition that has stunned their rivals as they use their size against the smaller brands in Europe.”

Breaking down Europe, Western Europe saw shipments fall eight per cent to 128m units, which is its lowest level since 2013. Central and Eastern Europe grew five per cent to 68m units, with Russia alone growing 14 per cent from 2017.

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Although Apple took the lead in phones shipped within Q4, the full year of 2018 was won by Samsung, shipping 293.7m devices globally. Huawei, Oppo and Xiaomi finished the top five vendors of Q4, all seeing a positive annual growth compared to Q4 2017. Even with the annual growth of three major vendors, global smartphone shipments in 2018 totaled 1.4bn, down by 5 per cent compared to 2017’s 1.5bn total shipments.

“It is no shock to smartphone vendors that the market has passed its peak,” said Canalys senior analyst Ben Stanton, “People are clearly keeping phones for longer as product innovation slows. But the speed and severity of shipment decline has caught many vendors, investors, and other companies in the value chain off guard. International factors like the U.S-China trade war, weak consumer spending in developed markets, and a buoyant market for refurbished phones, have catalyzed the decline of smartphone shipments.”

Apple’s iPhone XR was the most popular iPhone of Q4, with over 22m shipments globally, followed by the iPhone XS Max and iPhone XS. However, the tech giant’s popularity continues to shrink, especially in core markets like China, most likely due to competition from Samsung and Huawei, who both offer cheaper alternatives.

While Apple and Samsung both falling short of their respective shipping goals, Huawei jumped by 47 per cent in annual growth in Q4. Huawei also pioneered new technology in 2018, leading to record market share in China and a 60 per cent increase in shipments overseas. Canalys predicts major challenges for all three vendors in the year to come, including political hurdles, pricing, and the rise of aggressive competitors. 

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The Chinese electronics maker has debuted a pair of smartphones, a fitness band, and an electric scooter to the UK – which joins France, Italy, and Spain as European locations where the company is active.

“Today we witness a new chapter in Xiaomi’s global expansion journey, underpinned by our global ambitions,” said Wang Xiang, SVP of Xiaomi Corporation. “We are thrilled to make great strides by announcing our arrival in the UK. By bringing a range of our amazing products at honest pricing we want to offer more choices and let everyone in the UK enjoy a connected simple life through our innovative technology.”

The UK is the first market outside of Greater China to receive Xiaomi’s flagship Mi 8 Pro. An upgraded to the Mi 8, the smartphone comes with a 12-megapixel AI dual camera, an IR face unlock, a pressure sensitive in-display fingerprint senor, and features a 6.21-inch AMOLED full screen display.

The smartphone is available in ‘transparent titanium’ with an 8GB RAM and 128GB storage for £499 through Three, Amazon, Argos, John Lewis, Carphone Warehouse, Currys PC World, Very, GoMobile, Mobile Phones Direct, Katana, and Mi.com.

The Mi 8 Pro is joined by the more affordable Redmi 6A, which comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front camera, priced at £99.

In addition to the mobile devices, Xiaomi has launched its Xiaomi Band 3 in the UK. The fitness-tracking wristband features an OLED touchscreen display with a physical button and promises a 20-day battery life and 50-metre water resistance. The band is priced at £26.99 and available through Amazon, Mi.com, Three, eBuyer, Scan, BuyItDirect, Box, Currys PC World, and Carphone Warehouse.

The final product debuting in the UK is the £399 Mi Electric Scooter, which Xiaomi says is capable of travelling up to 30km in one charge. It weighs 12.5kg and comes with an LED headlight and regenerative braking. The scooter is available through Amazon, Mi.com, eBuyer, Scan, Box, Halfords, Very, Littlewoods, and Pure.

All of these products – and more – will also be available at Xiaomi’s first retail store in the UK, based in Westfield’s Shepherd’s Bush London shopping centre. The store is due to open on 18 November.

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Founder and CEO Lei Jun announced the milestone on the companys Sia Weibo account, revealing that the firm crossed the line on 26 October. Its a considerable improvement on last year for the manufacturer, when it shipped 70m smartphones in the same period. It also beats the full year total for 2017, when it shipped a total of 90m handsets.

Xiaomi went public in June, raising $4.72bn in its intial public offering on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Since then, share in the firm have plunged by nearly 30 per cent, so news of hitting its annual target early will no doubt boost investor confidence.

The news comes just one day after Xiaomi revealed the Mi Mix 3, its latest flagship device. It is one of the most expensive handsets offered by the brand, which has typically focused on budget offerings, with a price tage of ¥3,299 (£370) for the basic design and more expensive versions costing almost ¥5,000.

After an aborted attempt to widen its international presence a few years ago, Xiaomi is once again attempting to expand into new markets. The firm has recently overtaken Samsung in India, claiming 27 per cent of the market share there compared to the South Korean companys 23 per cent, and earlier this year, it signed a deal with Three to bring its devices to European countries including the UK, Sweden, Italy, Austria and Denmark.

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Previously, the ARCore wasn’t available in China because it requires the Play Store to receive updates and Google’s app marketplace is blocked in the Far East Asian country. Now, the AR features have been made available through the Xiaomi App Store via its Mi Mix 2S device. And we can expect Google to partner with other local app stores in the region to bring the ARCore to even more devices.

This isn’t the first time that Google has partnered with another company in China in order to make one of its platforms available. Back in 2015, it teamed up with Mobvoi to introduce Android Wear to the country. Wearable apps are now available via both Mobvoi and Huawei app stores.

At the backend of last year, Google announced that it would launch an artificial intelligence (AI) research centre in Beijing, China to focus on “basic AI research”.

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According to Strategy Analytics, Amazon shipped an estimated 4m Echo devices in the first quarter of the year, up from the 2m it sold for the same period in 2017. Though Amazon doubled up on shipments, its market share fell from 81.8 per cent to 43.6 per cent as Google began to muscle in on Amazon’s parade, while several other smart speakers emerged.

Google sold 2.4m Home devices, giving it a 26.5 per cent market share in growing from just 0.3m shipments the year prior. Meanwhile, the newer kids on the block of Alibaba, Apple, and Xiaomi achieved 0.7m, 0.6m, and 0.2m shipments respectively. All the other smart speakers hovering around combined to be responsible for the remaining 1.3m shipments.

“Amazon and Google accounted for a dominant 70 per cent share of global smart speaker shipments in Q1 2018 although their combined share has fallen from 84 per cent in Q4 2017 and 94 per cent in the year ago quarter,” said David Watkins, director at Strategy Analytics. “This is partly as a result of strong growth in the Chinese market for smart speakers where both Amazon and Google are currently absent. Alibaba and Xiaomi are leading the way in China and their strength in the domestic market alone is proving enough to propel them into the global top five.”

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