Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi claimed its MIUI Android app store has hit one billion downloads just over a year after it was launched, reports The Next Web.

The company’s devices use a custom Android-based OS called MIUI. Around 70 per cent of Xiaomi smartphone users download apps from the supporting store.

The app store has 17 million active users who have contributed to five million daily downloads and 1.3 million searches each day. It is the fifth largest app store in China.

Xiaomi recently said it had sold 7.03 million smartphones in the first half of 2013, only slightly fewer than the 7.19 million it sold in the entirety of 2012.

In July, it unveiled its ‘Red Rice’ smartphone, the lowest-priced product in its range, in partnership with internet giant Tencent.

Former Google executive Hugo Barra was recently appointed to build Xiaomi’s product portfolio and business around the world.