In an apparent shift in strategy, Chinese technology company Xiaomi will henceforth focus on selling premium and mid-range smartphones in the Taiwanese market, rather than looking to push its entry-level products in the country. Announcing its new approach, the company’s sales director, Mr. Henman Lee, said that all its previous launches in Taiwan prior to the recent introduction of the Mi Note, had been within the NT$10,000 ($320) price bracket. It bears mentioning that the company only recently introduced its current flagship phablet, the Mi Note, in the Taiwan market for a price of NT$12,499 ($400). Mr. Lee also divulged that models of Xiaomi’s second-generation smart wristband, rumored to be named the Mi Band 1S, have already been submitted to the Taiwanese regulator, the National Communication Commission (NCC), for certification purposes. The company has reportedly sold over six million of its first generation Mi bands in the Chinese market alone, reportedly making it the second largest vendor of such bands globally. The company now intends to sell at least a half million second-generation Mi Bands in Taiwan by the end of this year.
Xiaomi has also been rumored to be prepping the launch of its next-generation flagship smartphones, which are slated to replace the aging current-generation devices. The much-rumored Mi 5 Plus is said to be one of the very first devices to be launched with Qualcomm’s much-anticipated Snapdragon 820 SoC, when the smartphone is unveiled later in the year. The smartphone, set to be the crown jewel in the Xiaomi lineup, will feature a fully metallic build according to multiple rumors, and come with a 5.7-inch QHD screen, 4 GB of RAM and a 23-megapixel primary camera with OIS. The company is also said to be prepping the launch of a smaller, comparatively less powerful smartphone to replace the Mi 4, which was released last year by the company. This particular model is set to be dubbed the Mi 5 according to numerous leaks, and is rumored to come with a 5.2-inch QHD display panel. The device will allegedly be powered by the Snapdragon 810 chipset from Qualcomm, and come with 3 GB of RAM and a 16-megapixel primary camera. Both models are said to come with support for the Quick Charge feature.
Xiaomi has been looking beyond its home base of China for growth over the past couple years, and has ventured into markets like India and Brazil in recent times in order to escape the stifling competition from innumerable brands offering a multitude of products for consumers in China. The company has also recently started selling its accessories in the US and a handful of countries in Europe through its online store. The company’s Global Vice President, Mr. Hugo Barra, has also recently remarked that Xiaomi is “just a year away” from selling its range of smartphones in lucrative Western markets. How long it takes for that to happen remains to be seen, but one thing’s for certain – the company is definitely looking towards becoming a global brand to be reckoned with, having recently occupied the number five spot in the global smartphone hierarchy, after heavyweights like Samsung, Apple, Huawei and Microsoft in the pecking order.