Xiaomi sets a new Guinness World Record by selling 2.1 million smartphones in 24 hours

By Jason Hahn April 11, 2015

Xiaomi Mi 4 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Xiaomi lived up to its proper pronunciation on Wednesday by showing the world how to properly celebrate your birthday. As part of a fan festival to commemorate its fifth birthday, Xiaomi (pronounced “SHOW mee”) ran a 12-hour flash sale that ended up selling more than 2.1 million smartphones via Mi.com, its consumer-facing online store – good for a new Guinness World Record.

“The tech firm’s direct-to-customer website Mi.com store managed to sell an incredible 2,112,010 handsets over the course of its birthday, setting a new record for most mobile phones sold on a single online platform in 24 hours,” according to the Guinness World Records website.

The smartphone sales alone totaled 2.08 billion yuan, or about $335 million. That figure doesn’t include the 770,000 units of smart appliances, 247,000 units of the Mi Power Strip, 208,000 units of the Mi Band, 79,000 units of the Mi Wi-Fi router, and 38,600 units of Mi TVs sold during the event.

Xiaomi shipped 500,000 of the 2.1 million smartphone orders within 12 hours, and its 1,800 customer service representatives answered more than 1 million calls on that momentous day, according to the company’s forum post about its achievement.

While Apple sold 4 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus units in the first 24 hours of availability and 10 million units during the opening weekend for both phones, Ars Technica points out that the Guinness World Record is for “most mobile phones sold on a single online platform in 24 hours.” Apple’s gangbusters flurry of initial iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus sales came via its online store and its physical retail stores, not to mention carrier and third-party locations.

Xiaomi is the No. 5 smartphone maker in the world, according to both IDC and Trendforce. A recent report form Kantar Worldpanel ComTech noted that Apple had replaced Xiaomi as the top smartphone manufacturer in China during the three months ending in February.

While Xiaomi plans on opening up an e-commerce site for the U.S. soon, but its smartphones and tablets won’t be available at launch.

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Jason Hahn is a part-time freelance writer based in New Jersey. He earned his master's degree in journalism at Northwestern…

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