“We’ll Be Going a Lot More Aggressive on the Mi Brand in 2020,” Says Xiaomi’s Raghu Reddy

Jan. 16, 2020

Xiaomi has held the pole position, carrying the label of beingtheNo. 1 smartphone makerin India, for two consecutive years. The company has established its supreme position in the market and its phones are recognizable by any and all. But, this growth has majorly been fueled by the budget-focused Redmi brand, with ‘Mi’ totally missing from the picture.

Mi Phones Coming to India, Again!

The first step that Xiaomi took in this renewed focus on the Mi brand was to show off thefuturistic Mi Mix Alpha concept phoneat the briefing. Raghu Reddy, Head of Categories & Online Sales at Xiaomi India revealed to us that the Mi Mix Alpha will bedisplayed at Mi Home storesacross the country. It will be a great chance for technology enthusiasts to get a quick glimpse at what the future of smartphone may look like. There’s currently no plan to bring this concept phone to India but Xiaomi is evaluating its strategies and we’ll keep you posted on it.

If you are wondering which will be the first Mi phone to land in India, then Xiaomi did not explicitly comment on our queries about the same. The company has, however, put out a slew ofteasers with thehashtag#108MPisComingover the past few weeks. It could possibly be a hint for the upcoming launch of theMi Note 10, which we recently checked out.

Redmi has long focused on providing the most value-for-money. Had you ever imagined premium glass offering in the sub-Rs. 10,000 price segment?Redmi Note 7 seriesmade this a reality, with theRedmi Note 8 seriescarrying forward the legacy. Mi brand, on the other hand, redirected its energy to high-end specs and first-of-its-kind features.

If you consider theMi 9 Pro 5Gthat launched last year, it brought 40W wired charging, 30W wireless charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging. That’s amazing, right? You should expect to see these innovations make their way to India soon but the important question is – why the sudden shift in strategy?

Commenting on the revival of the Mi brand, Reddy said,“So, I think..you know..all in all, I think we [Xiaomi India] are in a place where we are equipped to start going after the more flagship devices out there.”The company believes the time is right. It now has theright forum to dive headfirst back into the premium flagship segment, which has on the rise in terms of shipments, and the Mi brand could cater to their flagship needs.

As compared to Redmi, the Mi phone launches will certainly be more sporadic. Don’t be overoptimistic and expect new Mi flagships or upgrades every six months, like the Note series in India.

In addition to Mi-branded smartphones making a comeback to India, Reddy spoke about further expanding the Mi Ecosystem. The company has created a robust portfolio of IoT products includingair purifiers,smart lights, and evenwater purifiersover the past few years. Well, Xiaomi is looking to expand on existing categories and new products across new categories – which the executives decided to stay mum about.

“Not just on the phone side, you will see a lot more focus on ensuring that some of those breakthrough innovative products, cutting across categories will find their way into India,”said Reddy during the briefing. He further elaborated saying that these will include more premium Mi TVs, smart lighting, and new products from categories that Xiaomi is yet to explore in the country.

Apart from this, I expect Xiaomi tointensify focus on wearables. The Mi Band is what enabled the company to become a renowned wearable maker and now that theMi WatchandMi Watch Colorhave arrived, I cannot help but be excited for what the future entails.

As you would expect, we had to air our skepticism about the future of Poco smartphones even though it wasn’t really the right forum for it. Reddy did not comment on the queries and patiently asked us to wait for the brand’s representatives to reveal more about their plans.

Coming back to the revival of its Mi brand in India, Xiaomi now hasmore confidence in pushing forward with its premium phones– in a country where value-for-value holds the utmost importance. On one hand, I’m truly excited to see the Chinese giant making a huge stride and deciding to again place a bet on the Mi flagships. I have wanted to touch and feel premium Mi-series phones launched in China for the longest time.

But, on the other hand, the skeptic inside nags me tonot forget the competitionand Xiaomi’s brand perceptionin the country. People have come to associate the company with their bang for the buck offerings – even if they span into the budget flagship market (more on this below). Xiaomi will have to once again allocate resource toeducate users about the Mi brand. And most importantly, why these users should opt for its premium phones instead of the competition.

We know the Chinese giant is one of the first to offer thelatest Snapdragon 800-series chipsetin its phones, along with a host of flagship features. It packs them all but would users be willing to shell out close to Rs. 40,000 for Mi branded phones in India over the likes of OnePlus and Samsung in this price bracket.

Secondly, Reddy also accepted the fact that Mi brand phones will surely have some of its features clash with the Redmi budget flagship. That’s undeniable but he did state that Mi phones will be the first to bring a slew of features, which will then trickle down to Redmi budget flagships down the road. Mi-branded phones, in my opinion, may yet againdraw towards itself a niche audienceas users would choose to patiently wait for upcoming budget flagship offerings. What are your thoughts on the Mi brand comeback? Do let us know in the comments section down below.