Xiaomi and Huawei devices account for almost 3rd of smartphones shipped in

(NASDAQ:AAPL) to become the top-selling smartphone company in China, according to data from two research firms, Canalys and Counterpoint Research. On the back of more affordable devices, Chinese device maker, Xiaomi took back the top spot from Apple reporting a 15.8% market share in the second quarter of 2015. Huawei’s share was marginally above Xiaomi’s, at 15.7%.

In china, Apple’s iPhone sales surged 85 percent earlier which included Hong Kong and Taiwan with revenue of more than $13 billion for the latest quarter. Samsung and Vivo rounded out Canalys’ top five.

Two Chinese smartphone makers pushed US technology giant Apple into third place in the world s biggest market in the second quarter, an independent analyst firm said Monday. “Xiaomi is under vast pressure to maintain its top position in the quarters to come”, said Canalys analyst Jingwen Wang in a statement. It expects intense competition ahead as the market matures, with Huawei focusing on profitability and Apple and Samsung expanding their channel sales.

Meanwhile, Huawei’s seven per cent market share was up from 4.8 per cent year-on-year. “The weak growth was a result of muted economic environment, smartphone market saturation and lack of product related catalysts”, Counterpoint research said. Coming in third place is actually Apple.

Xiaomi is a company you’ve probably heard about even though for the most part, the company’s smartphones aren’t available for purchase in the US.

“We remain extremely bullish on China and we are continuing to invest”, Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook said last month when the company announced earnings.

Xiaomi has proven itself as the smartphone leader in emerging markets with a tremendous performance, surpassing all its rivals. India presents another growth opportunity aside from China and a market saturation issue for Apple is not likely to surface, at least in the short term.