Xiaomi banks on new features for Mi 5
Print Edition
XIAOMI unveiled its flagship smartphone model Mi 5 yesterday, almost 18 months after the launch of its previous version as it attempts to consolidate position in the domestic market.
The MI 5 features latest Qualcomm processor, vibration-reduction camera, rapid battery charging and mobile payment feature.
The smartphone, which will start selling next Tuesday, has a price range between 1,999 yuan (US$306) for a 32-gigabyte model and 2,699 yuan for a high-end model with 128GB memory and ceramic design.
Xiaomi undershot its 2015 smartphone sales target of 80 million units but CEO Lei Jun said yesterday that the company remained the No. 1 phone brand of choice in China last year.
However, the gap between Xiaomi and its closest domestic rival Huawei is closing, with the difference in market share kept within 1.5 percentage points.
Huawei saw its smartphone sales worldwide surged 52 percent last year, exceeding the 100-million-unit threshold, data compiled by Gartner showed.
Analysts say Huawei’s hardware choices make it better positioned to compete globally than other domestic rivals.
Huawei’s high-end smartphones are mostly powered by its proprietary chip HiSilicon. Proprietary hardware is an important element that influences whether Chinese smartphones can successfully enter overseas markets as they help reduce costs and avoid potential patent lawsuits.
Xiaomi is also reported to be developing its own smartphone processor and could use it in future devices.
The company, however, did not give details of any plans to break into new markets, a step analysts say is necessary for it to continue to grow rapidly as the Chinese market matures.
More than 72 percent of Chinese consumers in the cities have smartphones now, compared with 65 percent in the United States and 74 percent in Europe, which means the market is close to saturation point, research firm Kantar claimed.
Industry analyst Ben Wood from CCS Insight said the Mi 5 was impressive, given the ratio between price and specification.
“But the challenge is Xiaomi needs to now expand beyond China, because it’s become a victim of its own success there so the addressable market has shrunk, particularly as the market has slowed down,” he said. “We didn’t get any clarity on how it is going to do that international expansion beyond India.”
Xiaomi is also reported to have acquired a third-party payment firm in a bid to launch its own payment service.
The company refused to comment when asked about the acquisition and the chip development yesterday. The company has, however, revealed its ambition to build its own financial services platform.
In yet another development, Xiaomi, which previously focused on online promotion, will open 200-300 stores.
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