If you are someone who’s been keeping track of Xiaomi phone launches in India, you would know that the company started its India journey with the Mi 3 launch back in 2014. It was followed by a myriad of Mi-branded phones in the country – Mi Mix 2 being the last of them as Xiaomi shifted its focus over to the budget segment. The company has primarily focused on the budget segment since then, expanding to the budget flagship segment with the Redmi K20 Pro last year.
Well, in a closed-door briefing with select media personnel, Xiaomi revealed its plans for 2020 and said that the Mi brand will witness an important push in 2020 in India. The Mi brand will make a comeback to the country this year. This means the company will be launching more high-end flagship phones and other premium Mi devices in India. We will focus on the latter down below, so let’s first talk about Mi smartphones.
Putting that aside, Reddy further added, “What we are definitely going to do in 2020 is increase the focus on the Mi portfolio. You will definitely see a few premium flagship devices that will be launched from the Mi sub-brand in the year 2020.”
Xiaomi is also expected to make an appearance at MWC Barcelona to take the wraps off their next flagship phone – Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro. If we go by what Reddy said during the briefing, you can see these flagships to make their way to India in 2020. It will compete against the likes of OnePlus, Asus, and Samsung in the sub-Rs 50,000 price segment.
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 series made this a reality, with the Redmi Note 8 series carrying 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 the Mi 9 Pro 5G that 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?
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 including air purifiers, smart lights, and even water purifiers over 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.
Apart from this, I expect Xiaomi to intensify focus on wearables. The Mi Band is what enabled the company to become a renowned wearable maker and now that the Mi Watch and Mi Watch Color have arrived, I cannot help but be excited for what the future entails.
Is a New Poco Smartphone Coming?
Poco F2 is one of the most anticipated phones in 2020. Poco’s Global Head Alvin Tse had recently piqued our interest by tweeting about the upcoming phone. And it was recently trademarked as well, so I guess we will have to wait until an official announcement.
Beebom’s Take on Mi Brand Revival in India
Coming back to the revival of its Mi brand in India, Xiaomi now has more 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.
