Xiaomi is a brand that I've come to admire over the past couple of years. Their products have a sort of simplicity when it comes to design, functionality and the value for money the devices promise and deliver is mind boggling. It reminds me very much of Apple products of yesteryear's (not that they are any bad now, but still). I know its a far-fetched comparison but believe me, they've got it in them to go further. It is quite likely that they have set Apple as the benchmark when it comes to the whole Xiaomi experience. This part is very evident from the Mi Home (retail stores) of Xiaomi which looks like a fine piece of art (must like the original Apple Stores).
It is quite natural that many would think of Xiaomi as equivalent to Oppo, Vivo and such Chinese smartphones, but trust me the case is quite the contrary. For one I would say that they have done their research well and their sourcing of quality components is spot on. The software and hardware integration of smartphones and wearable devices is remarkable. The MIUI is much like iOS, very smooth and fuzz free when compared to the other heavily skinned versions of Android.
The company started by 8 investors back in 2011 has a very interesting business model too. It prices the products close to bill of materials without compromising component quality and performance. It also makes profits from selling phone related accessories,smart home products, apps etc. While entering foreign countries, stress in on online sales initially, further to which exclusive stores are opened in prime locations (Xiaomi phones went the online route in India too with Flipkart and Amazon exclusives before opening physical stores in malls). It is the 4th largest startup in the world at the moment with a market valuation of $45 Billion.
A total of 373.1 million smartphones were shipped worldwide in Q3 2017 with an YOY increase of 2.7%. Samsung sits on the iron throne of smartphone kingdom having shipped 83.3m of those units with 22.3% market share. With a market share of 12.5% market share, Apple is flying its dragons on top of the iron throne. Huawei holds the 3rd spot with 16.1% market share closely followed by Oppo in 4th.
But, as per the IDC report of Q3 2017, Xiaomi is the fastest growing smartphone company in the world. It might have only 7.4% market share but it registered the highest YOY growth @ 102.6%. In India, the festive season surely fueled this growth which was well aided by their decision to launch more models in the offline market as well.
In India, what I feel is that premium flagships capture a lot of hype and flamboyance. It drives up the average selling price like anything. But the reality is that, the affordable models gets a clear majority as far as shipments go. Another interesting insight is that the Indian customers are willing to wait it out with the flagship models. As in, they would wait and wait till the prices fall. Like how I am waiting it out on the iPhone X which is neither available nor will be available in India for another 6-12 months.
Lucky me, I have a Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 as backup :p
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