China’s Xiaomi challenges Samsung, Apple with new premium phone

Xiaomi Corp. store in Seoul [Photo by Park Hyung-ki]

Chinese smartphone manufacturers are aggressively targeting the premium smartphone market with new products priced over $600, intensifying competition with industry leaders Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.

According to multiple sources from the information technology (IT) industry, Xiaomi Corp., the world’s third-largest smartphone brand, unveiled the flagship Xiaomi 13 Ultra at an unboxing event on Tuesday. The Xiaomi 13 Ultra is the top-of-the-line model of the brand’s 13 series, which will be introduced to the global market following China.

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra is Xiaomi’s premium model designed to compete with Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S23 Ultra. Just as the Galaxy S23 Ultra emphasizes its overwhelming camera features, such as 200 megapixels and 100x zoom, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra also highlights its camera capabilities.

Xiaomi has been partnering with German camera maker Leica since last year to jointly develop flagship smartphone cameras. Xiaomi aims to compete with other manufacturers’ flagship smartphones by improving camera performance based on Leica’s optical technology.

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra also features Qualcomm’s 2nd generation Snapdragon 8 processor just like the Galaxy S23 series.

Xiaomi aims to increase its market share by competing with the Galaxy S23 and iPhone 14 series with its new premium phone. Although smartphone sales declined sharply last year, premium line sales remained strong, forcing the market to shift its focus to high-end phones.

According to global market research firm Counterpoint, sales of premium smartphones priced over $600 increased by 1 percent last year versus the previous year, while overall smartphone sales declined by 12 percent.

Xiaomi had a global market share of 11 percent as of the fourth quarter of last year, making it the third-largest smartphone manufacturer after Apple and Samsung. The figure represents a 1 percentage point decrease from a year ago.

The global premium smartphone market is dominated by Apple and Samsung Electronics, which together account for about 90 percent of the market share. Other Chinese smartphone brands, Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp. and Vivo Mobile Communications Co., which rank fourth and fifth, respectively, are also expected to release new products in the second quarter, such as foldable phones, to gain a foothold in the premium market.