--- description: Xiaomi is known for its cheap smartphones — but the low prices are affecting its bottom line. title: 'China's Apple' Is Still Getting Killed by Apple Itself image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt061d9fc00aeaf0e9/69876eb855a8597822a84bbe/455475202.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Smartphones](/tag/smartphones/) ## Smartphones Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 'China's Apple' Is Still Getting Obliterated by Apple Itself  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 15, 2014 4:24 PM CUT  A Xiaomi Corp. Mi 4 smartphone is arranged for a photograph at the company's showroom in Beijing, China, on Friday, Sept. 12, 2014. A Xiaomi Corp. Mi 4 smartphone is arranged for a photograph at the company's showroom in Beijing, China, on Friday, Sept. 12, 2014.Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 15, 2014 4:24 PM CUT While the popularity of Xiaomi’s smartphones have earned it the nickname of “China’s Apple,” its profits don’t come close to those of the Cupertino, Calif. company. China’s Xiaomi, the world’s third largest smartphone company, pulled in only 347.5 million yuan ($56 million) in net profits from a revenue of 26.6 billion yuan ($4.3 billion) in 2013, [_Reuters_ reported](http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0JT07Y20141215?irpc=932 "undefined") Monday based on regulatory filings made by the company. Meanwhile, Apple [reported](http://investor.apple.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=1193125-13-416534&CIK=320193 "undefined") $25.4 billion of net sales during 2013 in Greater China, where nearly all Xiaomi smartphones are [shipped](http://www.canalys.com/newsroom/xiaomi-becomes-china%E2%80%99s-top-smart-phone-vendor "undefined"). Apple’s profit margins stood at about 33%, towering over Xiaomi’s 1.8%. Investors are continuing to question whether Xiaomi’s strategy of selling smartphones below what’s considered market price is sustainable. Xiaomi’s earnings, which _Reuters_ confirmed with a Xiaomi spokeswoman, rebuke a November [report](http://www.wsj.com/articles/smartphone-maker-xiaomis-2013-profit-nearly-doubled-1415195999 "undefined") in the Wall Street _Journal_ which cited a “confidential document” saying Xiaomi had netted $556 million in profits in 2013, which would have been a massive spike in earnings. \[[_Reuters_](http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0JT07Y20141215?irpc=932 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3633521/xiaomi-apple-earnings/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3633521/xiaomi-apple-earnings/"},"headline":"'China's Apple' Is Still Getting Obliterated by Apple Itself","datePublished":"2014-12-15T16:24:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:51:24.100Z","description":"Xiaomi is known for its cheap smartphones — but its low prices are affecting its bottom line","url":"https://time.com/3633521/xiaomi-apple-earnings/","keywords":["Smartphones","Apple","China","xiaomi"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt061d9fc00aeaf0e9/69876eb855a8597822a84bbe/455475202.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jack Linshi","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt061d9fc00aeaf0e9/69876eb855a8597822a84bbe/455475202.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Xiaomi","caption":"Xiaomi","creditText":"Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/smartphones/","name":"Smartphones"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3633521/xiaomi-apple-earnings/","name":"'China's Apple' Is Still Getting Obliterated by Apple Itself"}}]}] ```