Chinese phone manufacturer Xiaomi, already the most popular Android smartphone in its home market, has taken the engagement crown from the iPhone in China.

Traditionally, Androids cheaper handsets have led to it dominating market share in terms of phones sold, especially internationally, while Apple has maintained a strong lead in engagement, reflected in more time spent in apps and higher revenues from in-app purchases.

However, a study by Flurry of 23,000 devices in China throughout January 2014 found that the average Xiaomi user spent seven per cent more time in apps than the average iPhone consumer. Comparing with other Android manufacturers, Samsung was 14 per cent below the iPhone, HTC was behind by 27 per cent, while other Android phone came in slightly lower than that.

Examining exactly what apps and activities were leading to Xiaomis new-found lead, the study found that media and entertainment were accessed dramatically more by the average Xiaomi consumer, with 62 per cent more time spent in entertainment apps than the average Chinese smartphone user.

Xiaomis consumers also tend to be significantly younger than the average Chinese user, with most falling into the 18-34 age range, and looking into consumer personas, they dramatically over-index business professionals, with Xiaomi users 228 per cent more likely to fall into this category than the average Chinese smartphone user.

This positions the average Xiaomi user as a young business professional, likely university-educated and with a high disposable income. This type of consumer is a fast growing segment in China, with 7m Chinese graduates expected to enter the workforce this year, up from 1.1m in 2010, and a main driver behind Chinas increasingly consumer-driven economy.

With the Chinese economy predicted to become the worlds largest within the next few years, Xiaomi has managed to position itself as a leader in an extremely enviable market.