Chinese smartphone vendor Xiaomi Corp aims to outcompete South Korea's Samsung to be the world's largest smartphone vendor by shipments in three years.

The ambition came after Xiaomi earned its new tag as the world's No 2 smartphone maker in the second quarter of 2021, according to data from Canalys, a market research provider. It is the first time that Xiaomi wrested that status.

Lei Jun, CEO and founder of Xiaomi, said thanks to consumers' love and support, the company has been able to become the world's second-largest smartphone brand.

"Xiaomi will step up efforts to safeguard the position and eyes the No1 status over the next three years," Lei said.

At a launch event on Tuesday night, Xiaomi revealed its latest flagship handset, Mi MIX 4, in China, which features a string of cutting-edge technologies, such as an under-display camera.

The company also unveiled a new quadrupedal robot called CyberDog, a machine that also marks the company's official foray into the four-legged robotics space.

According to Xiaomi, the new robot can conduct a range of high-speed movements up to 3.2 meters per second and complicated actions, such as back flips. The robot also can respond to voice commands, including recognizing wake words and instructions, and can be controlled using a connected smartphone app.