xiomi

xiaomi

iaomi Corporation (/ˈʃaʊˌmiː/;^[2] Chinese: 小米 [ɕjǎu.mì] (

listen)) is a Chinese electronics company headquartered in Beijing. Xiaomi makes and invests in smartphones, mobile apps, laptops, and related consumer electronics.^[3]

Xiaomi released its first smartphone in August 2011 and has rapidly gained market share in China to become China's largest smartphone company in 2014.^[4] As of the start of Q2 of 2018, Xiaomi is the world's 4th largest smartphone manufacturer.^[5]^[6]^[7] Xiaomi has expanded into developing a wider range of consumer electronics, including a smart home (IoT) device ecosystem.^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]

Xiaomi has 15,000 employees^[12] in China, India, Malaysia,^[13] Singapore and is expanding to other countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, and South Africa.^[14]^[15] According to Forbes, Lei Jun, the founder and CEO, has an estimated net worth of US$12.5 billion.^[16] He is China's 11th richest person and 118th in the world.^[16] Xiaomi is the world's 4th most valuable technology start-up after receiving US$1.1 billion funding from investors, making Xiaomi's valuation more than US$46 billion

Products[edit]

Xiaomi has produced many products. Notably, they produce smartphones which run on their own version of Android MIUI. Observers cite that part of Xiaomi's rapid success rests on its ability to differentiate itself within the Android universe.^[18] It is able to successfully create its own ecosystem by increasingly offering a wide range of products. There are the varying lines of smartphones including; Mi Series, Mi Note Series, Mi Max Series, Mi Mix Series and the Redmi Series. Aside from mobile phones, Xiaomi started selling wearables, mobile accessories, and even appliances such as television and speakers. It now also offers tablets, laptops, and smart home devices - all available on its web store.

Xiaomi operates a vertically integrated model, which is considered a pioneering approach that enables the company to sell hardware at or below cost in order to attract users and augment potential financial shortfall with recurring revenue generated from content.^[18] According to Hugo Barra, a former Google executive who is now Xiaomi's VP, the organization is "an internet and a software company much more than a hardware company."^[19]

Xiaomi is also able to keep the prices of their products low or close to "bill-of-material" by keeping most of their products longer in the market - eighteen months rather than the six-month norm followed by smartphone companies.^[19] This strategy allows Xiaomi to take advantage of price reductions in the prices of key components of their products. It enables the company to sell hardware with specifications that are comparable to high-end devices at a fraction of the cost.^[20]

The integration of the Xiaomi ecosystem is also driven by the company's version of Android operating system, the MIUI skin. This platform, with its design, app marketplace, and functionalities, has established a community of engaged users,^[18] who form a crucial part not only of Xiaomi's customer base but also the company's drive to raise the market's awareness of its brand, products, and services. Also, the ecosystem is a massive source of revenue as indicated in 2015, when sales from the platform reached $750 million.^[21]

Xiaomi has launched a feature phone which is in direct competition with Jio Feature Phone in Indian Market. Its heavy focus on India, the world's second largest smartphone market^[22]^[23], is widely known. Xiaomi announced on May 2, 2018, the launch of Mi Music and Mi Video to offer “value-added internet services” in India to secure its leadership in one of its most important markets^[24]. On March 22, 2017, Xiaomi announced that it planned to set up a second manufacturing unit in India in partnership with contract manufacturer Foxconn^[25]^[26]. On August 7, 2018, Xiaomi announced on its blog^[27] that Holitech Technology Co. Ltd., Xiaomi's top supplier, will invest up to $200 million over the next three years to set up a major new plant in India^[28].