Xiaomi has found great success in the Indian market throughout 2019. This has been largely thanks to Redmi smartphones: Redmi was spun off into a sub-brand starting last year in order to allow the company to focus better on the mid-range market. Under this Redmi umbrella, they have managed to sell tons of mid-range and upper mid-range phones such as the Redmi Note 7/8 (and even some flagship-level ones, too, such as the Redmi K20 Pro). What has been notably absent from the Indian market, though, has been Xiaomi's higher-end offerings: devices such as the Xiaomi Mi 9 and Mi 9 Pro 5G last year didn't see a proper Indian launch.

This could be attributed to the fact that mid-range devices are wildly more popular in India for several reasons and it makes sense for Xiaomi to focus more on this market. There is still a market for high-end smartphones in India, as Apple's iPhone XR was one of the best-selling smartphones in India during 2019. According to Raghu Reddy, Head of Categories at Xiaomi India, the company wants to offer in India the same lineup they currently have over in China and has noted that both Redmi and Mi smartphones are going to be markedly different. To this effect, Mr. Reddy declared that "2020 is the year where we're looking to change that in a big way. You will see a lot more of Mi premium flagship devices that will make their way into India."

With Xiaomi's market share in the mid-range segment dipping with the rise of BBK-backed smartphone brands such as OPPO, Realme and OnePlus, opting for launching premium smartphones in India under the Mi brand could potentially dent Apple and OnePlus's dominance in the flagship segment. Xiaomi's Mi Note 10 smartphone, which is part of this premium lineup, is currently about to launch in India, and given this new strategy, we're likely to see devices such as the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro launch in this market as well.

Are you excited for Xiaomi flagships in India?


Source: Gadgets360