Xiaomi releases Mi 4C in tough market segment
Staff Reporter 2015-09-27 14:49
Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun presents Xiaomi's latest phone in Beijing, Sept. 22. (File photo/CNS)
Chinese handset maker Xiaomi's latest Mi 4C product is under great pressure in a challenging market and may disrupt the company's future strategy, according to web portal Sina's technology blog.
After a quiet first half of 2015 with few new products, Xiaomi entered the second half with the launch of new handsets every month, said analyst Pan Jiutang. Xiaomi's launch of the Mi 4C on Sept. 22 reflected the company's anxiety over its annual sales target of 80 million units, as the new handset is positioned as the main product before the next generation of the flagship model, the Mi 5, hits the market, Sina said.
The launch of the Mi 4C in Beijing was already dramatic, since Xiaomi's rival Meizu booked the same hotel and held a pre-launch reception on the same day. "In a hotel in Beijing, two groups of men in black gathered in the lobby and the atmosphere is tense. I thought it was a gang fight getting ready to take place. It turned out to be a launch of new handsets by Xiaomi and Meizu," a reporter wrote in a WeChat post.
The Mi 4C also reflected a new marketing strategy adopted by Chinese handset makers of first launching their products abroad before selling them at home, the Sina blog said. Earlier in the year, Nubia and Huawei unveiled their new products in Prague and London, while Smartisan touted the iF design award it received for its T1 model, according to the report.
The Mi 4C, meanwhile, is an upgraded version of its Mi 4i, which was the company's first product tailored for an overseas market. The Mi 4i was released in India in April and some Chinese users have been attracted to the phone not available in China.
The Sina blog said the Mi 4C, which is priced between 1,299-1,499 yuan (US$205-$235) is in a tough position to compete in the market segment between flagship models of 1,999 yuan (US$315) and low-end products below 999 yuan (US$155).
The use of the Snapdragon 808 processor in products at the Mi 4C's price range again displayed Xiaomi's ability to come up with products at a cutthroat price and keep rivals in check. But since the Mi 4C comes with better specs than the Mi 4 and Mi Note, the company is expected to cut prices of these two earlier products, and this may create competition for the new Mi 4C model from within the company, the blog said.
It remains to be seen whether the strategy to enter the mid-range market with the Mi 4C will be successful, Sina said.
