Xiaomi is the 4th largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, with more than 11% of total market share. The Chinese electronics company produces a wide variety of consumer electronics and smart home products ranging from gaming smartphones to a rice cooker. The company claims to have a revenue of around $15.8 billion in the month of November 2017. This simple introduction is more than enough to emphasize, how humongous the company is.
Well, Xiaomi has complete autonomy over the Indian smartphone market with more than 31% market share. Undoubtedly, the Chinese manufacturer provides one of the best budget-oriented and mid-range smartphones in India that offer flawless performance, premium built, and capable cameras with the aggressive pricing that leaves a user with no other choice rather than purchasing a Xiaomi smartphone.
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Xiaomi Mid-Range Smartphone Lineup In India
1. Redmi Series
The smartphone that introduced the concept of flash-sale and helped Xiaomi gain immense popularity is the Redmi series. The Redmi 1S was the first generation device of this series. During its initial launch around 1 Lakh, Redmi 1S were sold in 12 seconds. The series was later divided into Redmi and Redmi Prime for 2nd and 3rd generation devices. Lastly, it was divided in Redmi A, Redmi, and Redmi Pro for the 4th, 5th and 6th generation of devices.
2. Redmi Note Series
The next popular series on the list is the Redmi Note series. Xiaomi launches a Redmi Note smartphone during the month of February or March and that smartphone dominates the mid-range smartphone market for an entire year. The latest members of the series i.e. Redmi Note 5 and Redmi Note 5 Pro sold about 300,000 units and 5 million units respectively and that too within five months.
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3. Redmi Y Series
Redmi Y series was recently introduced and this smartphone lineup offered nearly similar specifications as compared to Redmi series. It is worth noting that, the Y series offered a better front-facing camera and a larger display. The Redmi Y series presently has only two devices i.e the older Redmi Y1 and the recently launched Redmi Y2.
4. Xiomi Mi A Series
Image Credit: CNET
Xiaomi Mi A1 gained immense popularity in India, as it was a perfect smartphone for users who didn’t like MIUI. The smartphone inherited a flagship design and its camera was in talks for months. Now Xiaomi has introduced the second generation of the Mi A series coupled with a lite variant. These new smartphones i.e. Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite are exceptionally good for the price.
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5. Xiaomi Mi Max Series
Image Credit: Tech2
This mid-range series of series of Xiaomi smartphones didn’t gain much attention. The major highlight of Mi Max series is the humungous form-factor and its display. Apart from that Mi Max offers decent specifications and an impressive battery life which for the hard-end users. The Mi Max Series is totally worth it and can act as a media consumption device.
Confusion While Purchasing Xiaomi Smartphones
The Rs. 10,000 price range is possibly the most competitive and difficult price range for a brand in India. Well, Xiaomi is the first choice for users while purchasing a smartphone in this price segment. That said, Xiaomi’s smartphone offering in this price segment is also a big confusion for users.
In 2017, the most popular smartphone in this price segment was Redmi 4. A user could purchase the slightly better Redmi Note 4 for Rs.11,000. Though he has to compromise upon RAM and storage while buying the lower-end Redmi Note 4. On, the other hand a user will get 4GB RAM and 64GB storage for the same price-point. So, these two smartphones were a slight confusion for users in the Rs. 10000 (+/- Rs.1000) price segment.
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Xiaomi introduced the Redmi Y1 which inherited specifications from Redmi 4 while design and display from Redmi Note 4. This new series introduced a big confusion among users. The Redmi Y1 offered a better front-facing camera among both these smartphones.
Current Scenario
In 2018, the similar situation exists but unlike last year, this time around the competitors have nearly similar specifications. The company introduced the Redmi Note 5 which was a perfect smartphone for the price. Next up Xiaomi introduced Redmi 5 Pro and the Redmi 5 for the similar price point and specifications. The only difference between these two is the dual camera setup that Redmi 5 Pro has and Redmi 5 doesn’t. Lastly, to make the situation even worse we have the Redmi Y2. Undoubtedly, all three smartphones are good but choosing one among these is a difficult task.
Image Credit: CNET
Talking about the Rs. 15000 price segment the Redmi Note 5 Pro competes with Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite. Well, there is not enough confusion between these two as you can either opt for stock Android or MIUI.
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As a conclusion, Xiaomi offers possibly the best smartphones in the budget-oriented and mid-range smartphone market. A normal user is not aware of the core specifications for these smartphones and generally, find’s it difficult to choose one among these. This clearly depicts that Xiaomi has reached a state where it is competing with itself.
I personally think that Xiaomi should stop re-creating smartphones with nearly same specifications just for the sake of continuous hype and name. What do you think? Should Xiaomi stop this drowning market strategy? share your thoughts in the comments below.
With additional inputs from Atish Rajasekharan
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