Apple, Samsung Issue Legal Notices To Xiaomi Over Ads

Apple and Samsung have separately sent legal notices to Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi for its advertisements in India that compared its smartphones with those of the two brands.

Citing sources, ET reported that the move by the two smartphone makers is aimed at protecting their brand value.

“Xiaomi has been served with cease-and-desist notices by Apple and Samsung for certain advertisements, as it directly hit their brand value,” the report said citing one of the sources.

Inc42 has reached out to Samsung, Apple and Xiaomi for comments on the development. The story will be updated on receiving their responses.

The report said that earlier this year, Xiaomi came out with newspaper advertisements which compared the price and specifications of Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro Max with one of its smartphones.

Similarly, Xiaomi compared some of its smartphone models with those of Samsung on social media. It also targeted Samsung’s smart TVs with this kind of ads.

Notably, India is one of the biggest smartphone markets in the world, with 7 Cr smartphones shipped in the first half of 2025, according to IDC. Vivo was the market leader with 19% share, followed by Samsung with 14.5%. However, Apple and Samsung lead in the country’s fast growing premium segment.

Apple’s shipments to India surged 21.5% year-on-year to 59 Lakh units in H1 2025. Notably, Apple CEO Tim Cook said in the company’s earnings call for June quarter that its quarterly revenue from India was the highest ever. The company’s iPhone growth was in double digits in the country.

As a result of this growth, Apple is increasing its retail stores in the country, and is scheduled to open a new store in Pune next week. Besides, India has also emerged as a major manufacturing hub for the tech giant.

The company plans to ramp up the production of its iPhone 17across its five factories in India. Besides, it plans to sell only iPhones produced in India to the US.

Other manufacturers like Samsung, Google, Lenovo, Alcatel, among others, are also producing smartphones in India, which has resulted in the country cutting its dependence on smartphone imports and increasing its exports.

Apple surpassed INR 1 lakh Cr mark in iPhone exports from India in 2024. Meanwhile, Samsung exported smartphones worth $52 Bn in FY24.

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