FP StaffAug 24, 2022 07:53:17 IST
If we go strictly by sales, Xiaomi is the number three smartphone brand in the world, and the number one smartphone brand in India, with a market share of 23 per cent as of Q1 2022. However, the times have been changing for the Chinese telecommunications giant, and fast.
Xiaomi has been under a lot of scrutinies all over the world, but especially more so in India. Indian authorities have been investigating Xiaomi and a number of other Chinese smartphone brands over allegations of money laundering, tax evasion and other misconduct.
In spite of all this, the smartphone brand remains popular among its customers. However, it hasn’t found that sort of popularity with the enthusiast community. Well, it seems that Xiaomi seems to have realised this and is trying to turn over a new leaf.
Xiaomi has been getting a lot of flak online from both users and tech enthusiasts regarding lots of stuff, bugs in software, ads in UI, and more.
Xiaomi might be prepping up a new sub-brand, or a new series of smartphones tailored to the tech enthusiast community. It is rumoured that this new sub-brand or series would be coming with a near-stock Android experience.
A recent report suggests that the first smartphone from Xiaomi’s new sub-brand would come with a Snapdragon 700 series SoC, and will offer a bloatware-free experience. It also suggests that the smartphone will be priced under Rs 25,000. Of the first two smartphones from the new sub-brand one will be based on the Snapdragon 765 SoC and the other would be powered by Snapdragon 778G SoC.
Xiaomi is yet to decide on what to call the phones, whether to revive the done and dusted A series or come up with a new sub-brand like Poco.
When they started out, Xiaomi used to be a favourite among tech enthusiasts. However, they fell off their radar in recent years when the brand started pandering to the mainstream and several of Xiaomi’s competitors came in with cut-throat prices.
MIUI, once a mainstay of Xiaomi devices has turned out to be a polarizing feature now. Thanks to the bloatware and unnecessary ads that the UI serves up, it is more or less hated by tech enthusiasts.
Stock Android, as we know gets praise from tech enthusiasts. A clean, ad-free, and bloatware-free Android experience from Xiaomi with an aggressive pricing strategy that Xiaomi of yesteryears is known for, will ensure a massive hit.
