Since the Chinese brand Xiaomi set up shop in India not too long ago, things have started to change rapidly in the region. While Indian brands like Lava’s XOLO, Intex and Micromax continue to release smartphone after smartphone in quick succession, things have started to change. Micromax launched their YU brand a little while ago with the help of Cyanogen, and for the first time an Indian smartphone can be purchased for an incredibly low price with up-to-date software and updates guaranteed for the future. The problem with these low, low prices however is that a brand is forced to operate a little differently than traditional companies. YU is an online-centric brand and they sell thousands and thousands of units at time through “flash sales”. The strategy seems to be working, as XOLO is about to launch a similar brand under the name of “Black”.
According to reports, each device sold under the Black naming will feature 4G LTE, and be priced somewhere between RS 5,000 and RS 20,000. Unlike Micromax’ YU brand however, they’ll be focusing on using their own software, such as the Hive UI which has been used in previous devices, but never gained mainstream popularity. These devices are rumored to offer premium features and specifications while priced much more affordably and sold only online and possibly through flash sales. Apparently, the first device will feature a dual-camera setup like the HTC One M8 did and feature fun depth-sensing abilities, this device will be priced starting from somewhere near RS 15,000 and could be a more higher-end type of device to get things started.
The Black brand apparently won’t be sold through flash sales, but we can’t imagine a company selling huge volumes without such a strategy. XOLO have apparently partnered with a ecommerce partner and telecom partner to sell the devices, and the first one will launch a little later on this year. Only time will tell whether or not devices made in India from XOLO’s Black brand will be able to take on YU and Xiaomi. Despite the fact that the Xiaomi brand is a Chinese one, the company has catered to their Indian customers very well, and they’ve become a big player to topple. Either way, it looks like the Indian smartphone market is to only get more interesting.