You start by imitating and learning from a superior rival but pricing your products much lower. When you've garnered enough market share, you innovate, focus on design & cutting edge tech, develop a cachet, make your brand iconic. Then you can charge your products at the same or higher level than your original rival.
Lei Jun idolizes Steve Jobs. He also wants Xiaomi to eventually supplant Apple as the next global tech icon.
The tech cycle is getting shorter. You got to have your own style and not copy. Even copying Steve job's out fit is really distasteful