Xiaomi to launch Rs 40,000 handset this year: report

Mumbai: Chinese consumer goods manufacturing giant Xiaomi has been riding on the success of its affordable, almost-premium handsets for quite a long time in India. Its products have been accepted extensively in the country, be it due to affordable pricing or the overall product.

According to a report by GizmoChina, the company is now looking to expand its portfolio and enter the premium segment. Yes! It is planning to launch a 4,000 Yuan device (Rs 40,000 approximately).

The report also said that the company’s co-founder Liwan Jiang has confirmed the same and believes that fans will still purchase the phone even though it will be expensive. He also pointed out that the price wouldn’t matter so much as the specifications on offer will surpass the value.

Earlier, Xiaomi entered the Indian market with a disruptive, premium class, budgeted device—the Mi 3—and have stuck to the mid-tier smartphone category since then. However, the company is definitely looking to stomp its authority in the high-end handset market with the upcoming high-end release. 

Though it is going to be really difficult to topple bigger brands such as Samsung and Apple, nothing can be said surely. In a realistic scenario, it does not have the slightest of chance to surpass the bigger guns but if Xiaomi manages to pull something magical out of the hat, it might just succeed.

The bigger challenge, however, is changing its reputation in the market from a affordable smartphone manufacturer to a prime player.

As of now, the company is slowly climbing up the ranks with its recent releases—the Mi 5 and the Mi Max—but it really needs to do something out-of-the-box to attract the attention of the customers.

Recent reports suggested that the company are looking forward to introduce two new devices—Mi Note 2 and Mi 5s—in the market soon. Both the devices will feature pressure sensitive displays, just like Apple’s iPhone 6s.