After holding the top position for the last two quarters, Apple has lost its crown as the leader in the Chinese smartphone market, slipping to third place in the most recent quarter.

According to research firm Canalys, the top spot for Q2 2015 goes to Xiaomi Inc., who have bounced back to claim an estimated 15.9 percent of the market share. Fellow Chinese vendor, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., with an estimated 15.7 percent of the market, follows Xiaomi closely in second spot. (via TechCrunch)

“The China smart phone market continues to mature, remaining stagnant quarter-on-quarter. Competition among major brands has never been so intense. Huawei recorded the highest smartphone shipments in its history without compromising its product margin or profitability,” said Jingwen Wang, Analyst at Canalys.

Canalys’ press release does not mention what percentage of the market Apple claimed in third spot. However, a separate report, released by Counterpoint Research, has the split between the three top positions as 15.8 percent for Xiaomi, 15.4 percent for Huawei and 12.2 percent for Apple.

During Q2, Xiaomi’s best-selling models were the Redmi 2 and Mi Note. Performance in key markets like India, as well as global rollout has helped Xiaomi capture the top position.

Huawei’s rise to second place was mainly due to its sub-brand Honor smartphones and latest Ascend Mate and G series models.

Apple surprisingly claimed the top spot for the first time in the final quarter of 2014 thanks to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, despite the retail prices being greater than phones made by Chinese vendors. Apple then continued its dominant position in the first quarter of 2015, but demand has decreased for Q2. Despite the drop in position, China remains on track to contribute almost $60 billion to Apple’s total revenues as well as almost $15 billion in operating income during 2015.

Vivo [vivo Mobile India Pvt. Ltd.], who had a year-on-year growth of close to 250 percent, passed Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. to claim fourth position.

Wang said, “Apple and Samsung have both increased their sales activities in the China market, expanding rapidly in channel coverage through flagship stores and small to medium size phone retailers respectively. Xiaomi is under immense pressure to maintain its top position in the quarters to come.”

Image credit: Jon Russell via Flickr