According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, Xiaomi was the world’s leading 5G Android smartphone vendor in Q2 2021.  On shipment volumes of 24 million 5G smartphones, Xiaomi captured 26 percent share of all 95 million 5G Android smartphones shipped globally in Q2 2021.



Over the past nine quarters Xiaomi has cumulatively shipped 70 million 5G smartphones.   Xiaomi’s performance places it closely behind Samsung, which has shipped an impressive 77 million 5G smartphones worldwide over the previous 10 quarters.  Samsung shipped the world’s first 5G smartphones, beginning in Q1 2019.

Huawei remains the cumulative 5G smartphone leader among Android OS phone makers.  Huawei has shipped 95 million 5G smartphones worldwide over the past nine quarters but has recently seen its shipment volumes collapse under the weight of a US imposed 5G tech ban.  That collapse has opened the door for other Chinese vendors, among them Lenovo-Motorola, Realme, OPPO, and Honor.

Lenovo-Motorola is the 5G smartphone growth leader. Lenovo-Motorola’s global shipments were up 3480% annually in Q2 2021, on volumes of 1.8 million 5G smartphone shipments for the quarter.  Realme ranked second in annual growth, up 1773% year-to-year in Q2 2021 on volumes of 5.6 million, while OnePlus, another Chinese vendor, ranked 3^rd in growth with shipment volumes improving 877% annually in the quarter. Meanwhile, Honor, in just two quarters, has cumulatively shipped 6.5 million 5G smartphones. This is an impressive number considering that Honor only began shipping 5G smartphones mid-way through Q1 2021.

These four 5G smartphone vendors, Lenovo-Motorola, Realme, OnePlus and Honor, are well positioned for strong growth in the second half of 2021 and in 2022, as they focus on markets and segment such as mid-tier 5G smartphones not fully dominated by their larger peers.

Clients of Strategy Analytics' Device Technologies service can access the report here.