Chinese tech company Xiaomi has recently launched its flagship smartphone globally as it seeks to battle giant smartphone brands Apple and Samsung.
The company recently rolled out its latest Xiaomi 13 and 13 pro, which will be available on March, starting from the 14th. The Pro model which comes with 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage is pegged at a price of £1,099, while the lower-end Xiaomi 13 (8GB+256GB) is priced at £849. Meanwhile, the Xiaomi 13 Lite (8GB+128GB) is priced at £449 and is currently available.
The new flagships from the Chinese manufacturer, features the latest Snapdragon chip, with up to 12GB RAM and 512GB internal memory, alongside a reworked camera system in collaboration with Leica.
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The Xiaomi 13 Pro device sports a 6.73-inch display and the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset from U.S. firm Qualcomm. It has a triple-lens camera and other premium features like ultra-fast charging. Also, the Xiaomi 13 comes with a 6.36-inch OLED display while the Xiaomi 13 Pro flaunts a 6.73-inch curved 2K OLED display.
Xiaomi is currently facing multiple headwinds due to a difficult macroeconomic environment with a slowing economy in China due to strong competition it is facing with giant smartphone brand apple.
According to tech analyst Neil Mawston, he disclosed that Xiaomi is faced with strong competition from Apple iPhone, due to fickle Chinese consumers who often switch between Android hardware brands in a flash.
The Chinese smartphone giant reported a decline of 9.7% YoY in its Q3 2022 revenue at RMB 70.5 billion (or $9.8 billion). The revenue decline was attributed to a slowdown in the company’s three major segments – smartphones, AIoT and internet services. The smartphone segment suffered the biggest decline among the three, with revenue down 11.1% YoY.
Coupled with fierce competition from local players Oppo, Vivo and Honor, as well as Apple’s latest series, Xiaomi’s market position dropped one rank to reach fifth during the quarter.
Last year, the company’s chief founder and chief executive Lei Jun disclosed the intention to challenge Apple, noting that the company will specifically focus on the high-end segment of the global smartphone market.
He said, “We aim to fully benchmark against Apple in terms of product and experience, and become China’s biggest high-end brand in the next three years”. He went on to describe competition with Apple in the high-end smartphone segment as “a war of life and death” that Xiaomi must overcome.
The Chinese phone maker seeks to attract more customers by distinguishing itself from other major Chinese Android smartphone brands that are also targeting Apple’s lucrative high-end segment by focusing on user experience.
Founded in 2010, Xiaomi has turned into one of the biggest smartphone makers over the years via a strategy of bringing out high-spec devices at very competitive price points.