Smartphone maker Xiaomi to put more emphasis on higher-end phone segment to compete with Huawei

Xiaomi Corp, the world’s fourth largest smartphone vendor, plans to forge ahead in the higher-end handset segment, in an aggressive bid to grab market share from China’s market leader Huawei Technologies.

“Xiaomi has already dropped price limits … and we will go all out in the high-end market,” said Lei Jun, founder and chief executive of Xiaomi, on social media platform Weibo on Monday.

The commitment to the high-end market comes after Xiaomi, whose smartphones are mainly priced in the mid to low price range, revealed its latest 5G smartphones, the flagship Mi 10 series, last month via a live-streamed conference amid nationwide restrictions on travel and large gatherings because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Huawei currently has more than an 80 per cent share of China’s high-end smartphone market.

“Xiaomi 10 is the first product to carry the company into the high-end market”, said Lei in a group interview after the product launch. “I think our previous customers were mainly young people … and we now have to put effort into all aspects … to get acceptance for Xiaomi from high-end smartphone users.”

“Oppo and Xiaomi have been growing rapidly in recent years through their differentiated go to market models. However, this is no longer enough and can be easily replicated by the competition,” said Nicole Peng, vice-president of mobility research at Canalys. “The move to the high-end is not merely a pricing strategy but also demonstrates both companies are gaining confidence in their technological know-how … they will face the ultimate test from high-end consumers though who are constantly looking for the full package of user experience.”