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Glance Active User Base in India Reaches All-time High of 189 Million in Q2 2022

6 million active users were added to Glance’s lockscreen platform in Q2 2022.
Glance launched the Hyperlive content format to boost engagement.
Glance’s partnership with realme continued to drive growth in the active user base.

New Delhi, London, San Diego, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul – October 13, 2022

Leading lockscreen platform Glance’s active user base in India grew to its all-time high in Q2 2022 to reach 189 million, according to Counterpoint Research’s Quarterly Mobile Application Tracker. The platform witnessed a user base growth of 25% YoY during the quarter, adding 38.5 million users. Compared to the previous quarter, 6 million new users were added. The growth was driven largely by partnerships with smartphone manufacturers, as well as new content formats aimed at driving user engagement.

Glance provides content to Android-based smartphone users on their lockscreens. With the first screen touch, users have the latest updates based on their preferred genre and language. The lockscreen platform provides personalized content via video stories, live-streaming and other modes. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) to understand consumers’ preferences. The content on Glance’s lockscreen platform is available in multiple languages and covers categories like current affairs, entertainment, technology, sports, fashion and travel.

Glance launched Hyperlive content on its platform during the quarter. Hyperlive is a live format that enables users to enjoy two-way interaction with some of their favorite celebrities or creators. Hyperlive holds the potential to further boost active engagement in the coming quarters.

Glance Active User Base, Q2 2021-Q2 2022 (in millions)

Source: Counterpoint Research Quarterly Mobile Application Tracker, Q2 2022

Commenting on Glance’s lockscreen growth, Research Analyst Arushi Chawla said, “The partnership with realme, which is the third-largest smartphone brand in India, continued to drive growth in the Glance active user base in Q2 2022. Glance has become a benchmark for lockscreen innovation for Android phone users. Major OTT platforms such as Netflix, Sony Music and Warner Music have also been utilizing the Glance lockscreen platform to connect with audiences for new movies, shows, and music releases.”

In Q2 2022, Glance hosted Glance Live Fest, a live interactive festival on the smartphone lockscreen. In addition, considering the popularity of cricket among the Indian population, Glance’s lockscreen platform has provided the fans with an all-new way to watch and interact with some of their favorite IPL teams. For Bollywood fans, Glance’s lockscreen platform often schedules live sessions with stars like Rajkumar Rao, Kareena Kapoor, and Rana Daggubati. Glance has also expanded to the smart TV segment by announcing the launch of the Glance TV platform. Glance TV will be a live interactive content platform available on Android smart TV home screens.

Chawla added, “Glance’s lockscreen platform is present across different genres and local languages, and has tied up with top Android smartphone brands. It is now expanding its horizons by launching Glance TV. Besides, Glance is also expanding and strengthening its geographical footprint. Along with India, Glance is growing its presence in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia, while plans are being firmed up for high-potential markets like the US and Latin America.”

Methodology

Glance’s mobile application presence is calculated from our panel database of over a million smartphone active users. Model-level Glance penetration data and active user ratios were extrapolated to our monthly smartphone installed base data using various parameters such as brand, model and price band to predict Glance’s active user base. We expect the results to have a statistical precision of +/- 5% at the confidence interval of 90%.

This is a sponsored survey to better understand the brand’s presence in the Indian smartphone market.

Disclaimer

Counterpoint Technology Market Research All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, we disclaim all warranties as to the accuracy and completeness of this report. Counterpoint shall have no liability for errors, omissions, or inadequacies in the information contained and any direct/indirect damages. All opinions and estimates herein are subject to change without notice.

Analyst Contacts

Tarun Pathak

Arushi Chawla

Counterpoint Research

LATAM Smartphone Shipments up 9% YoY; Samsung Widens Lead to All-time High

LATAM smartphone shipments increased 9% YoY and 8% QoQ in Q2 2022.
Samsung led the market with 43.5% share, followed by Motorola with 19.6% share.

Buenos Aires, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Seoul, London, Beijing, San Diego – August 16, 2022

Latin America’s (or LATAM’s) smartphone shipments increased 9% YoY and 8% QoQ in Q2 2022, according to the latest data from Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor service. The growth came despite the regional economic crises and weak global smartphone shipments. Argentina led the region with 32% YoY growth, followed by Mexico and Colombia. Samsung’s shipments and market share reached all-time highs during the quarter.

Commenting on the market dynamics, Principal Analyst Tina Lu said, “Samsung, Xiaomi and Apple’s shipments grew YoY in the LATAM market. These brands managed to offset the loss registered by other brands in LATAM’s overall shipment numbers. But the shipments didn’t match consumer demand, resulting in a record-high inventory, especially for Samsung and to a lesser degree for Xiaomi.”

Lu added, “Inventory was especially high in the higher price bands. Shipments in the $250 and above price band more than doubled YoY. The economic crisis did not allow the consumer demand to be as high as the OEMs’ expectations. Furthermore, in terms of product rotation, many retailers and operators were offering longer payment terms of up to 24 installments. 5G is still not widely demanded in the region. Most 5G devices are from the high-end segment.”

Research Analyst Andres Silva said, “Q2 is usually the second biggest quarter of the year in terms of seasonality as it includes Mother’s Day and Father’s Day in most markets. Both these festivals see key promotional sales. This year too, OEMs had promotions to offer, like Xiaomi had the ‘Xiaomi Day’, where most models had double-digit discounts. Colombia also had the “Dia sin IVA”, a VAT (value-added tax)-free day. Although it was only for one day, it accelerated the market to some extent”.

Top Smartphone OEMs’ Market Share in Latin America, Q2 2021 vs Q2 2022

Source: Counterpoint Research Q2 2022 Market Monitor

Q2 2022 Market Summary

Samsung was one of the few OEMs that were able to resolve or significantly improve the supply chain issue. This drove a massive surge in volume in both YoY and QoQ terms.
Samsung’s shipments and share in Q2 2022 were at all-time highs. The brand saw strong shipments but softer sell-through, resulting in high inventory, especially in the mid-high- and high-price segments.
Supply shortages impacted Motorola’s shipments for most of Q1 2022. Starting Q2, it increased shipments and launched low-price models in the region, which led to higher sell-through despite the slower consumer demand.
Xiaomi continued to grow YoY and QoQ. Very aggressive pricing for the Note series, specifically the Redmi Note 11 model, led to this growth.
Xiaomi’s sub-brand Redmi grabbed 91% of its volume in the region. Redmi has been very aggressive in dropping the price of its Note series to compensate for the absence of the A series.
OPPO saw a shipment volume decline, but the brand improved its position in the region. Most of its volume is still concentrated in Mexico.
OPPO is pushing to increase its participation in the affordable premium segment ($300-$500). It has launched the Reno 7 model in the region but is facing fierce competition from established OEMs. The brand is intensifying marketing, particularly at the sales point.
Apple grew YoY driven by the iPhone 11 model and Apple Store and premium resellers partnering with banks to offer installment payments.
Apple’s volume and share in the region continued to grow. Its older 4G model iPhone 11 drove the growth. Brazil, Chile and Mexico led in volume terms.
The “Others” category continued to decline YoY, affected by larger OEMs’ aggressive promotions and bundling.

Background

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts:

Tina Lu

tina@counterpointresearch.com

Andres Silva

andres.silva@counterpointresearch.com

Peter Richardson

Peter@counterpointresearch.com

Follow Counterpoint Research
press@counterpointresearch.com

Qualcomm Dominates Premium Android Smartphone Chip Market in Q1 2022

Both Qualcomm and MediaTek posted healthy growth in Q1 2022. MediaTek recorded an impressive set of numbers for the quarter with revenues growing 32% YoY and 10.2% QoQ to reach $4.8 billion. Qualcomm saw its third consecutive quarterly record revenue in Q1 2022 at $11.6 billion. Its business units recorded annual growth of between 28% and 61%.

MediaTek led the Android smartphone SoC market in 2021 with a 44% share, followed by Qualcomm with 35%, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Global Handset Model Sales Tracker.

Qualcomm’s focus on the premium smartphone segment (>$500) has helped it to grow revenues. Its Snapdragon 800 series and Snapdragon 700 series, notably the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and Snapdragon 778G, are both key volume drivers. Furthermore, Qualcomm has gained a 75% share of Samsung’s Galaxy S22 series shipments. In previous Samsung flagship models, there was a more equitable split between Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered SKUs and Samsung Exynos-powered SKUs. Qualcomm is also driving more revenues with its RFFE (RF Front End), allowing it to capture a higher share in the BoM.

MediaTek dominates the low-mid tier wholesale price segment ($100-$299), driven by its Dimensity 700 and Dimensity 900 series. Also, the 4G SoC in the <$199 price band is driven by the P35, G80 and G35 chipset models. MediaTek has entered the premium segment with the Dimensity 9000 series, but the sales will only start to pick up in Q2 2022.

AP Chipset Share for Android Smartphones by Price Band, Q1 2022

Qualcomm

Qualcomm is focusing on the premium (>$500) and mid-high ($300-$499) segments for revenue growth. Qualcomm is an industry benchmark when it comes to premium smartphones.
Qualcomm’s focus is on the 7 and 8 series Snapdragon chipsets, which drive higher revenue and profitability. Qualcomm acknowledged it has seen a slowdown in the low- and mid-price tiers. But this was more than offset by strong premium-tier sales.
Further, the design wins with 75% of sales of the Galaxy S22 family, up from 45% of the S21 family, helped Qualcomm strengthen its position in the premium Android segment in Q1 2022.
According to Counterpoint’s Global Smartphone AP-SoC Shipments and Forecast Tracker, the premium segment Qualcomm Snapdragon 700 and 800 series contributed around 68% of the AP/SoC shipments in Q1 2022.
Qualcomm’s share in the >$500 band increased from 47% in Q1 2020 to 71% in Q1 2022, growing 23% YoY in Q1 2022, owing to the launch of its Snapdragon 888 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipsets.
Focus on the premium segment will help Qualcomm ride out the slow China market, global macro-economic situation and high inventories.

MediaTek

MediaTek dominated the <$299 price tier and drove significant volumes both for 4G and 5G in this tier. Entry of the Dimensity 9000 enables MediaTek to capture share in the premium band (>$500). This is the first time MediaTek has entered this tier. MediaTek has already announced design wins with Chinese smartphone OEMs like OPPO, vivo, Xiaomi and HONOR. This opens more competition and opportunities for growth in the premium segment.
The volume in the ≤$99 price band was driven by LTE smartphones, where MediaTek captured a 47% share. LTE SoCs have been affected by the ongoing shortages and will be in short supply in 2022.
In the $100-$299 price band for Android, MediaTek captured a 60% share in Q1 2022 driven by its Dimensity 700 and 900 series.
MediaTek will continue to gain share in the $100-$299 price band as 5G penetrates markets like India, APAC others, LATAM and MEA. Smartphone OEMs like Xiaomi, Samsung, OPPO and vivo will likely launch affordable 5G smartphones under $200.
MediaTek has entered the premium segment with its Dimensity 9000 series. However, the sales are only expected to pick up in Q2 2022.
Overall, we forecast around an 8% share for MediaTek in the premium segment in 2022. MediaTek growth in Q2 2022 is expected to come from mid-high range phones due to the shifting of demand from LTEto 5G AP/SOCs. Further, with the launch of the Dimensity 8000 series, MediaTek wants to focus on and consolidate the $300-$499 price bands. This will also help MediaTek pivot volumes from the low-mid segment to mid-high to premium segments.

Samsung

Samsung Exynos’ share declined in Q1 2022 due to the loss in share to Qualcomm in the Galaxy S22 series and also due to the low yields of the 4nm premium Exynos chipsets.
Share in the premium segment declined from 34% in Q1 2021 to 23% in Q1 2022.
Samsung has launched the Galaxy A33 and A53 with its Exynos 1280 SoCs. These are the volume drivers that will help it to regain share from MediaTek and Qualcomm through the rest of 2022.
In the low-mid segment ($100-$299), Samsung’s share declined to 7% in Q1 2022 from 10% in Q1 2021 due to outsourcing of its models (A, F and M series) to ODMs, which integrated mostly Qualcomm, MediaTek or UNISOC solutions in different models depending on the target price bands.
In the low tier, Samsung is using UNISOC SOCs in the Galaxy A03 smartphone. The share of Samsung smartphones is almost negligible in this segment.

UNISOC

UNISOC continues to gain share in the low bands (<$99) driven by the LTE portfolio. Its share in the <$99 band grew to 47% in Q1 2022 from 20% in Q1 2021.
With realme, HONOR, Motorola and Samsung launching phones with its Tiger series SoC, UNISOC has expanded its customer base with design wins at ZTE and TECNO and entry into the Samsung Galaxy A series.
It has also captured an 8% share in the $100-$199 price band with HONOR, realme and Samsung.
For 2022, we expect UNISOC to maintain the momentum with its portfolio catering to LTE smartphones, as MediaTek struggles with supply issues for 4G chipsets and Qualcomm focuses on 5G solutions. Also, a few design wins with 5G chipsets will add to its overall volumes and help support its value growth.

HiSilicon

We expect HiSilicon volumes to decline in 2022 as the inventory is depleted. Huawei has already started using Qualcomm SoCs in its new launches, but these are limited to 4G due to the prevailing US sanctions.

Mexico Smartphone Market Surges in Q3 2021 Amid Component Shortages

Mexico’s smartphone market saw 13.3% YoY and 14.2% QoQ growth in Q3 2021.
Motorola led the market with a 23.9% share.

Buenos Aires, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Seoul, London, Beijing, San Diego – December 23, 2021

Mexico’s smartphone market saw impressive growth during Q3 2021 even as many LATAM markets were heavily impacted by the ongoing component shortages. The country’s smartphone shipments grew 13.3% YoY and 14.2% QoQ in Q3 2021. The same quarter last year had seen COVID-19 affecting the region’s smartphone market.

Commenting on the market dynamics, Principal Analyst Tina Lu said, “Mexico’s market is the second largest in Latin America, and its TAM (total addressable market) is getting closer to Brazil. Although the Mexican population is only around 60% of that of Brazil, its TAM is close to 80% compared to Brazil. Mexico is an operator-driven market but still is one of the most competitive.”

Lu added, “Mexico is often the first market chosen by brands to enter LATAM. This helps the country’s consumers to access a variety of brands and models. This also results in a low-concentration market that allows many brands to have similar shares. Motorola is the current leader in this competitive market. The brand had an extraordinary performance for most of 2021. Mexico is the only market in which Motorola is the leader.”

Source: Counterpoint Research Market Monitor, Q3 2021 | Note: Xiaomi includes POCO

Market Summary

Motorola has a big portfolio of affordable smartphones (<$150 price range). It also benefits from having enough supplies to stay as the Mexican market leader. Besides, Motorola has strong branding and is one of the strongest in the Mexican open channel.
Samsung, which was the leading brand in 2020, experienced its biggest YoY share and volume drop in Q3 2021 due to production disruption at its Vietnam factories and stiff competition from new entrants.
OPPO saw the biggest YoY growth. Its market share grew more than five times. OPPO is the most successful among the Chinese brands that entered the region last year. OPPO was in Mexico for a short period in 2017 and is now benefitting from the brand-building undertaken then.
ZTE almost doubled its share YoY. It benefited partly from Huawei’s woes. ZTE is the most operator channel-driven OEM in the region.
Xiaomi more than doubled its share YoY but it was still fifth in the market. Its growth has not been as flashy as in other markets. Xiaomi needs to work more on brand-building.
Huawei was once the leader of the Mexican market but is now in the ninth position. The brand’s woes have translated into the successful entry of other Chinese brands in the region.

Background

Analyst Contacts:

Tina Lu

Andres Silva

Peter Richardson

Follow Counterpoint Research
press(at)counterpointresearch.com

Glance Active User Base in India Crosses 150-mn Milestone

London, San Diego, Buenos Aires, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul – September 21, 2021

Glance, a leading lockscreen content platform owned by InMobi Group, achieved the milestone of 150 million active users in India in Q2 2021, according to Counterpoint Research’s Quarterly Mobile Application Tracker. With 151 million active users, Glance grew 8% QoQ in Q2 2021. One in every four Indian smartphone users is now active on the Glance platform, which offers an interactive lockscreen experience to Android smartphone users.

Commenting on the development, Research Analyst Arushi Chawla said, “India is a mobile-first country, with over 90% of the internet users accessing it from a smartphone. As the overall smartphone market is maturing and consolidating, with top OEMs capturing most of the market, it is also a challenge to maintain hardware differentiation when the form factors remain similar. In such a scenario, the long-term value creation will depend more on delivering differentiation through over-the-top (OTT) services. Therefore, Glance, with its presence in more than half of the current user base of the top four smartphone brands in India (Q2 2021), holds a vital role.”

Exhibit 1: Glance Active User Base, Q1 2021 vs Q2 2021

Source: Counterpoint Research Quarterly Mobile Application Tracker, Q2 2021

Glance, coming as a pre-installed lockscreen application, provides frictionless onboarding to new smartphone users. Besides, it continues to devise engaging ways to create stickiness to its platform:

Glance is progressively adding a variety of engaging content, like live, interactive broadcasting.
One of the core strategies of Glance is to support multiple regional languages. Glance eases the content discovery and absorption for a larger user base by offering eight Indian regional languages.
With the use of ML (Machine Learning), Glance provides personalization of content across categories, including fashion, entertainment, sports, news, travel, tech, and more. Curated content and effective editorial control further make the platform clickbait-free.

The change in content consumption habit from search to discovery has made the activity more platform-driven. Therefore, the overall experience of an online content consumer now depends on content availability, quality and personalization. Glance has succeeded in matching this new trend of content discovery with its offering.

Exhibit 2: Price Band Split for Glance Active Users, Q2 2021

Source: Counterpoint Research Quarterly Mobile Application Tracker, Q2 2021

According to Counterpoint data, Glance continues to have a robust presence in the sub-$250 price band, which forms about 80% of its active user base. Further, more than one-tenth of the 5G smartphone installed base is equipped with the Glance platform, thus making it a future-ready test pad for the next phase of content innovation.

Senior Research Analyst Pavel Naiya said, “With the proliferation of 5G devices and the introduction of 5G network in India in the coming times, it will become more crucial for all hardware players to focus on content play for long-term survival. In this process, the $200-$400 price band will be the biggest segment in short- to mid-term smartphone growth. The strong presence of the Glance platform in the majority of active smartphones in this price band makes it a potential candidate for the OEMs for a long-term collaboration.”

Methodology:

Glance’s mobile application presence is calculated from our panel database of over a million smartphone active users. Model-level Glance penetration data and active user ratio were extrapolated to our monthly smartphone installed base data using various parameters such as brand, model and price band to predict Glance’s active user base. We expect the results to have a statistical precision of +/- 5% at the confidence interval of 90%.

This is a sponsored survey to better understand the brand’s presence in the Indian smartphone market.

Background:

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in detailed industry analysis of the TMT sectors. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects, and detailed analysis of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are experts in the industry with an average tenure of over 15 years in high-tech industries.

Analyst Contacts:

Pavel Naiya

Arushi Chawla

Counterpoint Research

Feel free to contact us at press(at)counterpointresearch.com for questions regarding our latest research and insights, or for press enquiries.

LATAM Smartphone Shipments Fall 36% YoY in Q2 2020 on COVID-19

Online sales more than doubled in the region.
Motorola’s share increased by 7.1 percentage points.
Smartphone shipments in LATAM declined 19.5% QoQ.

New Delhi, Hong Kong, Seoul, London, Beijing, San Diego, Buenos Aires – August 31, 2020

Smartphone shipments in the LATAM market continued to fall during Q2 2020, showing a drop of 19.5% QoQ and 36% YoY, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service. However, the shipments started recovering after hitting a record low in April due to the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Commenting on the Q2 2020 LATAM market OEM performance, Senior Analyst Tina Lu said: “In Q2 2020, we experienced further market concentration. Large brands grabbed shares from the smaller ones. As a result, ‘others’ volume suffered the biggest impact, declining to around half of last year’s level. Top five brands represented more than 81% of the shipments in Q2 2020, a 4.8 percentage points increase compared to Q2 2019. Motorola and Xiaomi drove this growth, together registering more than 10 percentage points increase in their share. Huawei, on the other hand, lost 4.8 percentage points, despite its global leadership.”

Exhibit 1: Smartphone Shipment Market Share, Q2 2020

Source: Counterpoint Research Market Monitor, Q2 2020

Commenting on the handset demand, Research Analyst Parv Sharma said: “Online sales more than doubled in the region. But they were low before the lockdown. Online events such as the ‘Hot Sales’ event in Mexico increased online sales share. Some other events also stimulated consumption. In May, it was Mother’s Day across many countries while Colombia had the ‘No VAT day’ in June.”

On the average selling price (ASP), Lu said: “The lockdowns also drove currency depreciation against the US dollar in most LATAM markets. Hence, most mobile devices saw price increases, placing additional pressure on the ASP. All top OEMs’ ASPs were impacted. Samsung was the most resilient OEM as its flagship model sales remained unaffected compared to the same quarter last year. On the other hand, Huawei ASP had the highest YoY drop. It lacks competitive models in the high and premium segment, affected by the ban on having Google Play Store on its devices.”

Exhibit 2: Smartphone ASP Decline by Brand, Q2 2019 vs Q2 2020

Source: Counterpoint Research Market Pulse, Q2 2020

Key Takeaways

Motorola’s share increased by 7.1 percentage points compared to the same quarter last year. This is almost 48% growth YoY.
Motorola increased its share in most markets of the region. Mexico was the main booster. However, Brazil is still Motorola’s most important market in terms of volume.
Samsung continues to be the absolute market leader in LATAM.
It was quick to react to the market movement. It revived its Galaxy J2 Core model production. This model was in line to be phased out after the introduction of Galaxy A01. However, now it has become one of the bestselling models in the region
However, Samsung lost its leadership crown in Peru while it was somewhat challenged by Motorola in Mexico. Brazil remains its biggest market in terms of volume.
Huawei’s performance through the quarter had its ups and downs. In April, it recaptured the second spot in the region after almost one year of remaining third. But its share declined in the following months.
Huawei’s volume declined 63% YoY, impacted by the lack of components due to a trade ban, and the overall regional crisis.
Xiaomi was the only brand that saw a YoY volume increase. While its share more than doubled YoY, this growth was not without controversy. Its biggest market, Brazil, had most of the volume entering unlawfully through Paraguay. This fact has invited much criticism in Brazil.

The Market Monitor research relies on sell-in (shipments) estimates based on vendor’s IR results, vendor polling triangulated with sell-through (sales), supply chain checks and secondary research.

The comprehensive and in-depth Q2 2020 Market Monitor is available for subscribing clients. Please feel free to contact us at press(at)counterpointresearch.com for further questions regarding our latest in-depth research and insights, or for other press enquiries.

Background:

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in Technology products in the TMT industry. It services major technology firms and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analysis of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are experts in the industry with an average tenure of 13 years in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts:

Tina Lu

Parv Sharma

Peter Richardson

Follow Counterpoint Research
press(at)counterpointresearch.com

XiaoMI : M is for Mobile & I is For Internet

Smart Devices Giant

We have been closely tracking and have extensively covered Xiaomi’s business which primarily has been smartphones.
Xiaomi is the world’s fourth largest smartphone brand (see here) and the number one smartphone brand in China (see here), thanks to Xiaomi’s bestselling models (see here) such as Redmi 2 & Redmi Note in entry-tier as well as high-tier respectively.
Xiaomi has adopted “Hardware as a Distribution” strategy (see here) selling hardware at a very competitive price points in order to acquire users for the Xiaomi’s platform.
Currently, almost 85% of Xiaomi’s revenues comes from smartphones (see here) and a mere 1% from apps and services.
We estimate the apps and services revenues will jump to almost 5% of the total revenues this year.

Smart Devices Giant + OTT services + E-Commerce Platform

The Mi platform is not just a platform where Xiaomi will generate revenues from apps and services rather quite ambitious as a platform of everything it can sell to the acquired user – hardware, software, cloud, content, mobile services, e-commerce and much more spanning across different categories possible in mobile technology space.
Xiaomi has ambitions to become much more than a “smartphone vendor” into a full-fledged “internet player” globally.
Xiaomi has already invested in more than 50 companies globally across different offerings and plans to increase investment to more than 100 companies in near- to mid-term.
Key strategy here fro Xiaomi is to “acquire users” and it could be by cross-selling any Mi branded technology offering which spans from Mi branded toys, to connected Mi Home Automation to Mi TV to Mi smartphones and tablets to now Mi Mobile an MVNO service which the Chinese brand has ventured into
Though Xiaomi’s platform is designed to be differentiated but is a closed and more integrated unlike the new upstarts such as Jolla or Cyanogen (see here)

Smart Devices + OTT services + E-Commerce + Internet Pipe

Xiaomi’s new offering Mi Mobile is gearing up to sell prepaid voice, data plans to Chinese consumers by becoming a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) piggybacking on China Telecom & China Unicom networks
Xiaomi with immense popularity for its products and e-commerce portal has built a strong 100 million+ fan base to which it can cross-sell its new offering
We at Counterpoint estimate Mi Mobile can scale to 5 million users by end of this year and potentially to 25 million by end of next year
It will not only attract its existing growing fan base but also users from other carriers into its ecosystem which eventually can upgrade to Mi devices and other offerings
This is a classic cross-selling strategy of building newer products and offerings to sell to its existing user-base and also attract prospective users creating a halo effect
This level of cross-selling with attractive proposition fosters brand loyalty and thus builds a strong foundation to always boost the bottom lines.
Unlike other OEMs, Xiaomi is bolder and its services strategy doesn’t limit just to content or apps or cloud but also in becoming a virtual pipe for providing low-cost internet to its users
This is an early warning signal where this fearless Chinese brand could be disruptive as its valuation continues to sky rocket.
This will set precedence for other vendors to follow this model as they rethink their long-term strategy to compete with Xiaomi as they are not competing with a hardware brand but an internet vendor
We estimate that one of the next areas where Xiaomi will venture soon into would be “mobile wallet” (see here)or “Mi Pay” to support its e-commerce platform and app, services offerings.
The next frontier in 2017 and beyond would be to enter and disrupt the Electric Vehicle (see here) market

Having said that, the Western markets still remain a weak spot (see here & here) for Xiaomi and will be interesting to see how much of the broader ecosystem success it enjoys in China it can replicate outside China.

– Neil Shah

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AP Chipset Share for Android Smartphones by Price Band, Q1 2022

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