The 2.11 million sales happened during one of Xiaomi's (in)famous "flash sales," where large quantities of previously "out-of-stock" devices are put on sale for frenzied Xiaomi fans to snap up. This sale was held during Xiaomi's fifth birthday celebration, so naturally the company wanted to make a big deal out of it.

As for Xiaomi's sales numbers: Apple sold 10 million iPhones during the iPhone 6 launch weekend, and we have to imagine the majority of those were in the first 24 hours. Where Xiaomi sneaks by is in the "single online platform" wording, which means we're comparing Mi.com to the online Apple Store. Apple no doubt sells tons of phones online, but also through brick-and-mortar Apple stores, carrier stores, and third-party places like Best Buy. Samsung sells a lot of phones, too, but its online retail presence takes a back seat to carrier websites and stores.

While Xiaomi isn't as big as Samsung or Apple, the company has been growing a lot lately. Despite only selling in a handful of countries, IDC has it ranked number five in worldwide market share for 2014, and the company boasted year-over-year growth of 178 percent. It also has a valuation of $46 billion, making Xiaomi the world's most valuable startup.

Earlier this year, Xiaomi announced that Mi.com, the platform that owns the online sales record, is coming to the US, so we'll soon be able to see what all the fuss is about.

(arstechnica.com)