China's Xiaomi rose to become the fifth largest smartphone vendor by market share during the second quarter, Strategy Analytics estimates.
Xiomi's share of the global market rose to 5% for the first time, the firm said.
The strong growth is coming from China, where Xiaomi ships millions of smartphones every quarter, but the vendor has also been working hard to expand its presence internationally.
Xiaomi recently started selling its handsets in Hong Kong, and is gearing up for a launch in Indonesia.
Samsung's share of the global market by contrast slipped to 25%, from 33% a year earlier. Strategy Analytics estimates that Samsung shipped 74.5 million smartphones worldwide. Apple's market share was 12%, while Huawei was in third place with a record 7% share.
Strategy Analytics estimates that global smartphone shipments grew 27% year-on-year to 233 million units, thanks in part to healthy demand from Asia and Africa. But this demand was counterbalanced by sluggish sales across North America and Europe.