The Chinese smartphone maker trailed Samsung, which remained in the number one spot with 19% market share. Meanwhile, Apple was bumped down to third, after experiencing only 1% growth during the quarter, the Canalys report showed. Meanwhile, Oppo and Vivo each hold 10% share and grew 28% and 27%, respectively. In a letter to employees, Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun described claiming the world number two title as a “major victory” to the company’s strategy. “In 2014 Q3, we took the third place globally for the first time in our history. Unfortunately, we ran into many difficulties subsequently and dropped out of the Top 5. Since 2016, we underwent a comprehensive review of our business, and after five years of self-improvement, we significantly enhanced our product capabilities, and paved our way in the premium market segment and reinforced our position there,” he said. In addition to acknowledging the company’s success, Jun also announced the company’s plans to further expand its R&D team by recruiting more than 5,000 engineers this year. Jun added the company predicts R&D expenses will exceed 13 billion yuan this year, compared to the nearly 10 billion yuan it spent in 2020. Earlier this week, Xiaomi released its sustainability report for 2020, which detailed there was a 60% decrease in plastic usage for Mi 10T and Mi 10T Pro series packaging, and that by the end of the year, the company aims to achieve a higher percentage of plastic reduction in the packaging of its new products in Europe.  The report also documented the company achieved a number of security and privacy certification that ensures “all data that leaves the EEA is fully compliant with EU standard contract terms and GDPR”. “We are committed to keeping abreast of all the latest data and security standards, and our security teams ensure that our products are compliant with 82 jurisdictions,” the company stated in the report. The sustainability report also revealed that Xiaomi will “soon” be making its earthquake notification system available to other countries with earthquake zones as part of its contribution to the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals. The notification system, currently only accessible in China, is available on its smartphones running the MIUI 11 and above system and MI televisions. It alerts users when an earthquake is occurring, where to find the nearest emergency shelter, emergency contact details, medical contacts, rescue information. “From the moment we set up this company in 2010, Xiaomi has been committed to improving the world we live in. In 2020, we joined the United Nations Global Compact and committed to its ten stipulated principles of corporate responsibility.” Jun said.

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