Budget phone brand Xiaomi releases cheapest 5G phone at US$520, although Lei Jun still not happy
- Most brands have been launching 5G-enabled handsets ready for the global 5G market which Gartner forecasts will be worth US$4.2 billion by the end of 2020
Although budget Chinese phone maker Xiaomi Corp announced the lowest priced 5G phone on the market on Tuesday, chief executive Lei Jun was still not happy.
The Beijing-based company introduced the Xiaomi 9 Pro 5G, starting at 3,699 yuan (US$520) for the basic handset, with the top end model selling for 4,299 yuan, higher than Lei Jun wanted even with substantial subsidies.
“We initially planned to price the Xiaomi 9 Pro 5G at 3,999 yuan, but we wanted to subsidise consumers to let more people have a chance to use 5G phones,” Lei said during the launch event.
Lei said R&D costs for the next generation phones were “huge” and selling them at the same prices at 4G models was “not sustainable” and would result in “a huge loss” for the company.
“We set the starting prices at 3,699 yuan for the first 5G smartphones Xiaomi launched in China, and hope the consumers could feel our sincerity.”
Xiaomi also showed off a concept phone called Mix Alpha which features a wraparound screen covering the front and back of the device. Expected to go on sale in December at 19,999 yuan, more than 1,000 engineers were involved in its design at a total cost of 500 million yuan, according to Lei.