Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi launched its second-generation flagship phablet earlier today to much media fanfare. The original Mi Note was announced as far back as in January 2015 and many early reports seem to suggest that the wait will be well worth it once the Mi Note 2 is made available for purchase in the days to come. However, Xiaomi fans in India who would have been hoping to get their hands on Xiaomi’s latest flagship phablet, may be in for some major disappointment if a new report doing the rounds of the Indian tech media is anything to go by. According to the report, Xiaomi’s global VP, Mr. Hugo Barra, has categorically stated that the company has no plans to launch the Mi Note 2 in India.
The India launch embargo reportedly also extends to the Mi MIX, which happens to be a massive 6.4-inch high-end phablet that was also unveiled alongside the Mi Note 2 at the event in Beijing earlier today. Since this statement reportedly comes straight from the horse’s mouth, there’s no real reason not to believe it, but it does come as a huge disappointment for many would-be buyers in India. For the money it’s asking, the Mi Note 2 seems to be a really interesting device, and could have been a compelling choice for buyers wanting a premium smartphone without breaking the bank. Now whether Xiaomi will eventually launch a tweaked version of the phablet in the country at a later date remains to be seen, but for now at least, Indian residents wanting to get their hands on a premium Android phablet for cheap will need to look elsewhere.
Just as a refresher, Xiaomi earlier today launched a couple of high-end smartphones at an event in Beijing, China. The more mainstream of the two devices, Mi Note 2, features a 5.7-inch 1080p curved OLED flexible display panel and is powered by the Snapdragon 821 ‘Performance Edition’ SoC that comes with a quad-core CPU clocked at an impressive 2.3GHz. The smartphone will be available in three different variants, only two of which will be sold in the Chinese market. The third model is the global version that was initially expected to launch in India. The base version meant for the Chinese market comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, while the more premium model will sport 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The global edition, meanwhile, will also have 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage model, but will be compatible with up to 37 different LTE bands that are functional worldwide.