One of Apple's biggest smartphone competitors is reportedly planning to release a laptop to rival the MacBook

Xiaomi, the $45 million Chinese "startup" that came from nowhere to become the world's fourth-largest smartphone maker, is planning to launch a laptop early next year, Bloomberg reports.

People familiar with Xiaomi's plans told Bloomberg that the Chinese tech company may release a notebook computer in the first quarter of 2016.

The company is in talks with Samsung to supply memory chips, and that deal could see Samsung providing displays for Xiaomi's laptop too, according to the report.

Xiaomi became famous for its ability to create affordable smartphones with high-end internal specifications - something that could translate to building a laptop too. Bloomberg reports that the notebook would compete with premium devices like Apple's MacBook Air and Lenovo's ThinkPad. A Xiaomi computer could threaten the lead of companies like Apple, Lenovo and HP in a rapidly shrinking market.

PC sales are plummeting. Gartner says they have dropped by 9.5% over the past year, while IDC estimated a year-on-year decline of 11.8% in the second quarter of 2015. Apple, which is not included in Gartner's global data, is the only company to see any increase year-on-year, according to IDC. But that doesn't mean it's safe from Xiaomi.

Xiaomi has decimated Apple's short lead in smartphone sales in China, and put other companies like Samsung under a lot of pressure too. The company is often described as"the Apple of China" because it has such a devoted fan base. Research from Flurry in 2014 found that Xiaomi was far more popular among the younger generation in its native China, "especially [among] college students and young adults who just entered the workforce." And these people really need laptops.

While Xiaomi has managed to take the top spot back from Apple in Q2 - with 15.9% of market share to Apple's 11.1%, according to data from Canalys- local rival Huawei is hot on its heels. Huawei grew sales by 48% sequentially, landing 15.7% of the market share in the second quarter of this year.

Xiaomi's plan to launch a laptop comes as growth of smartphone sales in its home market slows down. As China has become saturated with smartphones, Xiaomi has started offering its devices in other markets like India and Brazil too. It could always follow suit with its new laptop if and when it is released.