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Xiaomi Is The Best And Worst Thing In The Android World

Xiaomi Is The Best And Worst Thing In The Android World

More Than A Decade Has Passed Since The Launch Of The First Xiaomi Phone On The Market, And The Company Has Made Many Positive Changes To The Mobile Industry During Its Time, But It Has Also Taken Controversial Actions.

In 2011, customers looking for affordable smartphones did not have access to ideal options. At that time, phones like HTC Wildfire, Samsung Galaxy Mini, and ZTE Blade were quite popular. For consumers in 2011, access to a budget mobile with suitable hardware was just a dream.

With the emergence of Xiaomi, the value of smartphones increased, and 11 years later, the influence of this Chinese company on the mobile industry is undeniable.

Understanding the impact of Xiaomi on the mobile market requires an examination of history. When it introduced the first Xiaomi phone in 2011, Nokia was still one of the leading players in the mobile market and had a popular operating system called Symbian. By then, Samsung had become the largest manufacturer of Android phones in the market, and HTC was still making popular devices. However, none of the mentioned brands had an excellent affordable phone market.

Democratizing hardware

Working with Redmi Note 11 Pro 1

Today’s model of the mobile industry is primarily based on the concept of purchase value. It’s true that we also have products like foldable on the market, which are often scrutinized for their innovation, but the price of the phones and what you get for the money are still the main criteria for many people to get new devices.

It all started with the Xiaomi Mi One, a device with a powerful Snapdragon S3 processor, 1GB of RAM, and a high-definition display. Xiaomi’s main competitor, the Galaxy S2, which was Samsung’s flagship at the time, came with similar specs, but the Xiaomi Mi One was hundreds of dollars cheaper. From that time, Xiaomi had determined what direction it wanted to take.

Xiaomi was a pioneer in the production of affordable high-powered phones

Android Authority said Xiaomi was ready to enter international markets by 2014. With the introduction of the Xiaomi Mi 3, the Chinese company could access its general formula of offering a device with a small profit margin, and instant sales of phones through online stores became common.

Both strategies helped Xiaomi reduce vendor profit margins and the costs associated with keeping large volumes of products in stock. In 2014, Xiaomi managed to sell 18.7 million Mi 3 phones. The supply of this phone in the international markets ended in just a few minutes.

Xiaomi did not need much time to dominate the Indian market. By 2017, Xiaomi had overtaken Samsung to become the most popular mobile brand in the lucrative Indian market. Xiaomi has a 21% share of the Indian mobile market and is still number one.

This Chinese company is above only Samsung and Apple at the international level and is the third best phone maker in the world.

The introduction of Redmi and Poco series devices has allowed Xiaomi to increase the sales of its mid-range and budget phones and experience more growth in international markets. Since then, Xiaomi has significantly modified its business model. It now sells phones through offline channels in addition to offering high-end flagship phones and does not rely solely on online stores. Xiaomi’s strategy of providing phones through online stores is still a popular idea, and even new players such as Nutting have shown interest in it.

In 2018, Xiaomi reduced its after-tax profit margin to just five percent to ensure it remains competitive. Of course, Xiaomi’s profitability path did not only include smartphones. And the company implemented another trick to increase its revenues.

Xiaomi’s big ecosystem

Xiaomi 11T in hand

Xiaomi earns most of its revenue by selling phones. Still, in addition to phones, it also sells a wide variety of other products, From bright lamps and vacuum cleaners to toothbrushes, televisions, and even shoes. After years, Xiaomi has been able to design a comprehensive ecosystem that includes hundreds of partner brands.

Xiaomi’s efforts to expand its ecosystem began with the MIUI user interface. Xiaomi soon realized that it could significantly increase its revenues by focusing on software. Xiaomi did not make much profit by selling hardware, but by selling themes, wallpapers, ringtones, etc., it made more profit in the MIUI user interface. Interestingly, Xiaomi considers itself an Internet company, not a hardware company.

Xiaomi soon realized that providing software services is very profitable.

Apple has launched services such as Apple TV Plus and Apple Music to increase its income years after its start. Today, Apple earns billions of dollars in revenue through the sale of software and subscription services. However, in 2013, Apple was considered a hardware company primarily. The emphasis on software is not exclusive to Xiaomi. Other brands have also focused on software, but few have been as successful as Xiaomi.

Xiaomi’s strategy to increase revenue through software sales was successful, and the company earned a lot of profit. In 2018, Xiaomi went public and became a public company. Eight years after its inception, Xiaomi was valued at around 50 billion dollars to become the world’s third-largest smartphone brand in terms of market value.

The glass is half empty.

Working with Xiaomi 12 Pro

Xiaomi’s focus on software services brought many benefits to this company, but at the same time, the excessive growth in this field caused a series of problems to appear. Xiaomi was determined to earn more software revenue, so in a move that didn’t go down well with users, it started showing ads on its software services.

Xiaomi’s remarkable success in selling ad-laden hardware products has led other software brands to consider implementing a similar strategy. The Chinese company started showing ads in many parts of its software ecosystem, from default system apps to the phone’s lock screen. Today, even those who buy expensive Samsung flagship phones don’t have an ad-free software experience.

Xiaomi has distanced itself from advertising, but its advertising strategy has infiltrated the Android ecosystem.

Xiaomi now doesn’t widely display ads on its phones and has moved somewhat away from its original policy. Yet, the over-focus on ad-laden software offerings is a blot on the company’s history.

With its advertising policy, Xiaomi has caused lasting damage to users’ mentality toward the Android operating system. Users are unhappy with ads on low-end phones, even though budget phones don’t show as many ads as before.

Xiaomi’s influence on the Android ecosystem is undeniable

Poco X4 Pro user interface

The 2022 model of Xiaomi is very different from the company that Li Jun founded in 2010, but Xiaomi has not strayed too far from its traditions. MIUI continues to form the basis of all Xiaomi phones, and the Chinese company’s ambitions to create a large ecosystem of connected devices have never been higher.

Of course, as could be predicted, due to the presence of companies like Realme and BBK Electronics subsidiary brands in the mobile market, the competition increased even more, and the strategies followed by Xiaomi were repeated many times by other companies.

Regardless of whether or not you agree with Xiaomi’s business model over the years, you certainly can’t deny that no company has put as much emphasis on delivering powerful phones at affordable prices as Xiaomi. Xiaomi set many standards that define today’s high-powered, cheap telephones; however, it took unpopular actions like showing ads along the way.