Xiaomi has made it crystal clear that it’s ready to take on the smartphone establishment. The Chinese devicemaker launched a new smartphone that shares its name with Samsung’s popular Note, and is marketing it as a direct competitor to the iPhone 6 Plus.
Xiaomi Chairman Lei Jun, who contrasted the Mi Note’s specs with those of the 6 Plus at a launch event in China, said his company’s phone was both thinner and lighter. The 16 GB Xiaomi Note will sell for about $370, less than half the $749 that Apple charges for the unlocked iPhone 6 Plus. The phone will run Xiaomi’s customized version of Android, and Jun said this week that developing an ecosystem around his company’s devices is a priority for Xiaomi.
A premium version of the Mi Note, powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 801 processor, will sell for $520. Sharp and Japan Display are supplying the 1080p displays, according to The Verge, and LG and Sony are supplying the 3000-milliamp batteries.
Android Authority compared the Mi Note and the Galaxy Note 4 side-by-side and found that the Note 4 has a slight edge, but the Mi Note costs much less than the $700 Note 4.
Coming to the U.S.?
The Mi Note supports both FDD-LTE and TDD-LTE, sparking speculation that it will eventually come to North America. After Xiaomi made headlines with a billion-dollar financing, rumors of a U.S. smartphone launch started to circulate. Many predicted that Xiaomi would launch a phone for the U.S. at the Consumer Electronics Show.
The lineup at CES did not include a U.S. phone from Xiaomi, but it did include several high-end Android phones from Xiaomi’s competitors. Most are destined for Asian markets, and some may never come to the U.S.
For now, Xiaomi remains focused on the world’s largest smartphone market. The company is already China’s leading smartphone vendor, and worldwide the only companies that sell more smartphones are Apple, Samsung and Lenovo (which now owns Motorola Mobility.)
Smartphone component makers have been focusing on the Chinese market for years, primarily with chips for entry-level phones. Now it looks like high-end phones for Chinese consumers are also an important market for smartphone chipmakers.
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