Xiaomi wants to shed its image of making cheap phones
One of the reasons why the more established players such as Apple and Samsung are slowly losing ground to other companies is because of manufacturers from China. This includes brands such as Xiaomi who have managed to create a reputation for themselves as being the maker of cheap and value for money smartphones.
This is not necessarily a bad reputation to have since developing markets are well worth tapping into, but it seems that Xiaomi wants to eventually shed its image of being the maker of cheap phones. Speaking at a public event, Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun warned that the company’s phones in the future could get more expensive as they shift towards creating more premium products. He was quoted as saying:
“Actually, we want to get rid of this reputation that our phones cost less than CNY 2,000. We want to invest more and make better products. I said internally that this may be the last time our price will be under CNY 3,000. In the future, our phones might get more expensive. Not a lot, but a little more expensive.”
The CEO did not mention exactly how much more expensive their phones will get, so we’re not sure if this might be cause for alarm for some Xiaomi customers. That being said, Xiaomi also has its Redmi lineup of devices which are typically priced cheaper than the company’s Mi series, so customers who are more budget-conscious can always check those devices out.
Source: XDA Developers