Xiaomi, which considers itself as an internet service company and not a hardware company, is all set to launch its new short video application — Zhenjing Video. The company seems to be following the footsteps of Bytedance and Tencent.
The app named Zhenjing Video is being operated by a company in the southwestern city of Chengdu, in which Xiaomi owns a controlling stake. The app made its appearance in on Xiaomi and Baidu’s Android app stores but it has been taken down at the time of writing this.
However, a WeChat mini-program by the same name still remains live. Like other similar applications, this one too hosts videos ranging from one minute to 10 minutes, along with features such as personalized content and ‘bullet screens’ for displaying comments. Currently, users are unable to upload their videos.
Xiaomi jumping on the short video services bandwagon seems pretty much in line with the company’s strategy so far. The Chinese smartphone maker has already created an ecosystem of internet services products that comes pre-installed in Xiaomi’s smartphones.
The services offered by Xiaomi to its hardware users range from online media content streaming such as videos and music to its own payments services called Mi Pay. While some of those services are still limited to China, a few of the services have made to other regions as well, the latest being Mi Pay’s official launch in India earlier this month.
Internet services made up for 9 percent of the company’s revenue in the year 2018, showing 0.5 percent growth from 2017 but it grew around 61 percent compared to the year before. The gross profit margin for this business also grew from 57 percent to 63 percent, led by videos and live streaming services.
