Xiaomi finally releases 2015 sales stats, fell short of its lowest predictions

The final count is 70 million, the company said today. Image credit: Xiaomi’s official Weibo.

The case of the missing phone statistics has finally been solved – today, Xiaomi revealed that it sold 70 million smartphones in 2015, a number below even their most modest predictions.

It’s been apparent for a while that something went wrong for Xiaomi in 2015. In 2014, the company predicted that they would sell 100 million phones in the coming year – an estimate that was promptly bumped down to 80 million last March.

When late 2015 rolled around, and China’s techies eagerly awaited the company’s sales report, they were met with silence. CEO Lei Jun talked in December about how the company “does not emphasize goals such as smartphone sales anymore,” which certainly didn’t build anyone’s confidence that the company had met its targets.

Xiaomi – the company that used to post real-time updates of the numbers of phones sold during its flash sales – was suddenly shy about numbers.

But that changed today, with an official Weibo post by the company, showing co-founder Lin Bin announcing the company’s stats. The post said that Xiaomi sold 70 million phones last year, and was “the country’s number one” seller – a statement that may not be completely accurate.

Image credit: Xiaomi’s official Weibo.

Domestic competitor Huawei sold more than 100 million phones last year, which would seem to make it China’s number one seller. In fact, in a press release yesterday, Huawei specifically called itself “the leading Chinese smartphone manufacturer” and “the top smartphone brand in China.”

In other words, the two companies have a bit of a disagreement – but the numbers appear to be on Huawei’s side.

It’s worth mentioning that 70 million phones sold is still growth – in 2014, Xiaomi sold about 61 million devices. While 14 percent growth may not have been the kind of figure that Xiaomi was hoping to see in its phone sales, it’s important to note that the company is far from shrinking – it simply isn’t growing as fast as many would like.

In late 2014, Xiaomi was very gung-ho about its phone sales stats, and it’s entering 2016 with notable humility. But it’s far too soon to count the company out – it still has a bustling phone business, a wildly popular fitness tracker, and an ever-expanding portfolio of software and hardware operations.

While 70 million may have been a disappointment – especially compared to Huawei’s epic 108 million – Xiaomi is still one of the country’s more interesting tech firms.