Xiaomi is not a stranger to anyone. The Chinese smartphone maker has made it big in India with a strong portfolio ranging from smartphones, accessories, wearables and other smart devices. As impressive as the lineup may seem, it doesn't match up to what the company offers in its home country, China.
From smart TVs to IoT products, Mi offers an extensive range of products offered in China. India has proven to be quite profitable and a stable market for Xiaomi, but the company had its doubts on the success of certain products, most of which aren't as price-friendly as the ones available in the country right now.
In a major disappointment, Xiaomi skipped an important launch of its flagship Mi 6 in India. Rumour has it that the OnePlus 5-rival might hit the Indian shores as early as this month, but there is no concrete evidence of it happening. Here's a look at why it might succeed if launched in India.
Xiaomi Mi 6 sports top-notch features that not only challenge high-end flagships from Samsung and Apple, but it will also give a tough time to the recently-launched OnePlus 5. The handset comes in two variants in China, 64GB and 128GB, priced at ¥2,499 (around Rs 25,000 / $363) and ¥2,899 (around Rs 29,000 / $421), respectively.
In terms of specs, it sports a 5.15-inch IPS Full HD display, Snapdragon 835 chipset, 6GB RAM, a 3,350mAh battery and a water-and-dust resistant unibody build with a mixture of glass and metal. It has impressive optics powered by two 12MP cameras at the rear with PDAF, AF, dual LED and OIS, and selfies are taken care of by an 8MP snapper. The handset also features a fingerprint scanner integrated into the display of the phone.
There's no doubt Mi 6 is a keeper, but Indians have no option but to wait for its release.
But Xiaomi Mi 6 isn't the only worthy phone Indians missed this year.
Xiaomi Mi Max 2
A metal-clad phablet was launched in China in May for the movie buffs. Successor to the Mi Max, the Mi Max 2 added notable upgrades but never made it to the Indian market like its predecessor.
Xiaomi Mi Max 2 features a large 6.44-inch display with 1080p resolution, a massive 5,300mAh battery, and a full metal body. It boasts a 12MP rear snapper with Sony IMX386 sensor and dual LED flash and on the front there's a 5MP wide-angle lens for selfies. Like other Mi phones, this one also has a fingerprint scanner at the rear and supports dual SIM cards, fast charging, 4G VoLTE and USB Type-C powered transfer.
The handset is powered by a Snapdragon 625 chipset, 4GB RAM and comes in two storage options – 64GB and 128GB. The base model is priced at ¥1699 ($247/€220/Rs.15,962) while the higher-end model costs ¥1999 ($291/€259/Rs.18,780).
Xiaomi Mi 5C
On March 1, Xiaomi launched two devices, but one of them caught everyone's attention. Unlike other Mi phones, Xiaomi's Mi 5C came with company's in-house 64-bit class 2.2GHz Xiaomi-Pinecone Surge S1 octa-core CPU.
Even though the phone's chipset was an important introduction, the Mi 5C came with other impressive specs too. The handset features a 5.15-inch Full HD display, a 12MP rear camera with 6P Lens, LED flash and an 8MP front snapper with f/2.0 aperture. Under the hood, it features a 2,860mAh battery, 3GB RAM and 64GB storage.
The phone features a fingerprint scanner and has USB Type-C for charging, dual SIM card support along with 4G VoLTE. The handset is priced at ¥1499 (approx. $218/€206/Rs. 14,564) in China.
Xiaomi Redmi 4X
Along with Mi 5C, Xiaomi had launched Redmi 4X in China on March 1. Targeted mainly towards budget-conscious buyers, the Redmi 4X offers specs to match its low price tag of ¥699 (approx. $102/€96/Rs.6,791) for 2GB+16GB variant and ¥899 (approx. $131/€124/Rs.8,734) for 3GB+32GB model.
Xiaomi Redmi 4X features a 5-inch HD display, a 13MP rear camera with LED flash, f/2.0 aperture 5P Lens and PDAF, and a 5MP front snapper. It is powered by a Snapdragon 435 chipset, and has 4,100mAh battery. It also supports dual SIM cards, 4G VoLTE and has a fingerprint sensor for security.
Will they come to India?
Xiaomi hasn't revealed any plans to launch any of these three smartphones in India, but 2017 is not over yet. There might be a good chance of the Mi 6 flagship coming to India seeing how well the market has responded to OnePlus 5. At this moment, it's all a matter of time.
