Xiaomi is no longer the smartphone market leader in India. It was recently beaten by Samsung. Research notes that the Chinese company’s misunderstanding of consumer taste in the country led to its downfall.
Xiaomi is primarily known as a maker of affordable smartphones in India. Even the company acts as one by focussing more on handsets priced below ₹10,000 (~$120).
Thus, with the change in customer needs and the market economy, the company failed to keep up with the competition, especially Samsung.
Xiaomi has been selling expensive phones in the country since 2019 but there has never been consistency in its portfolio. Thus, customers don’t remain loyal as they are to other premium smartphones like Apple iPhones and Samsung Galaxy S series.
For example, the Redmi K20 series kickstarted Xiaomi’s premium journey in India in 2019. The product was a success but the company abandoned the branding, only to re-introduce it in 2022 by launching a device, which has nothing to do with ‘Redmi K’.
Further, Xiaomi brought its Xiaomi Lite lineup to India in 2021. But the company did not release its successors in 2022 and 2023. Similarly, the brand did not launch newer Xiaomi T series phones last year.
The company may have decided not to release the above handsets based on its research. But there’s no denying that inconsistency affects the loyalty of its user base.
To get a strong foothold in the premium smartphone segment, the company must change its perception among customers first. Xiaomi is still failing to do so years later.
It does not offer solid software support for its premium phones like the competition either. Although the optimizations are better than before, it is still not up to the market as there are no ecosystem benefits that you can find on handsets from Apple and Samsung.
Xiaomi has become just another smartphone brand in India right now. The Redmi Note series used to be highly recommendable but it is no longer the case.
In order to sell more premium phones, Xiaomi bumped the price of the Redmi Note 12 series by offering features that match the asking price. The highest variant now costs ₹32,999 (~$400).
Redmi Notes are known for their aggressive sub-15K starting price. The higher models reached upwards of about ₹20,000 (~$250) till last year. A sudden hike of around ₹10,000 (~$120) does not make sense.
The price category the Redmi Note 12 lineup currently selling in belongs to Xiaomi Lite and Xiaomi i series devices. Both of them did not get successors this year.
Then, there’s not a new handset in the ₹30,000-₹50,000 (~$350-$600) price category for over a year now. This range is currently the hottest segment in India with devices like Galaxy S21 FE, Vivo V27 series, Oppo Reno 9 series, OnePlus 11R, and more.
But Xiaomi has nothing to offer. The brand’s still selling the underwhelming Xiaomi 11T lineup for some reason as the Xiaomi 12T family did not make its way to the country last year.
And above ₹50,000, there are only two devices, such as Xiaomi 12 Pro and Xiaomi 13 Pro. The company did not bring the vanilla Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 13 to the region.
Though Xiaomi is aiming to make a name for itself in India’s premium smartphone market, it is not going to launch the upcoming Xiaomi 13 Ultra in the country either, let alone its foldables.
In a nutshell, there’s no consistency in the company’s product portfolio. You never know when a series gets axed in the region or replaced with something else.
It’s high time Xiaomi fixes its strategy in India before it’s too late. Though the company is reportedly making changes, we do not know what are its plans right now.
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