Xiaomi has entered into a mutually beneficial contract with China’s Tell Labs that’ll help bolster its Internet of Things (IoT). The contract was signed on November 3 at Xiaomi’s Mobile Internet Industrial Park in Beijing.

Fan Dian, general manager of Xiaomi IoT Platform Department and Wei Ran, director of China Institute of Information and Communications Technology’s Tell Terminal Laboratory, respectively signed the cooperation agreement on the joint AIoT laboratory on behalf of the two parties.

The outfit will be known as Xiaomi & Tell Intelligent Internet of Things (AIoT) Joint Laboratory and will focus on the typical application scenarios of the intelligent Internet of Things, such as smart homes, to carry out user experience research, plan formulation, test evaluation, and exploration of new technologies and new scenarios. The joint laboratory will be built in Xiaomi Yizhuang Industrial Park and Taiercui Lake Base. It will create a one-stop service platform to provide technical guidance, standard interpretation, test plan customization, test verification, and technical consultation and training services for Xiaomi and Xiaomi’s IoT ecosystem partners.

Further, the joint lab will help Xiaomi and its IoT ecosystem partners to continuously improve product quality and user experience. The laboratory will also work with other partners in the industry to jointly create industry standards and evaluation programs to promote the healthy and orderly development of the industry.

As the world’s leading AIoT smart home brand, Xiaomi’s IoT platform has more than 271 million connected devices, serving 55.99 million households around the world, with Xiaomi’s virtual smart assistant XiaoAI having more than 78.4 million monthly active users.

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Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer, has recently invested in Dongyi Risheng, one of China’s leading home decoration companies. The consumer electronics maker has become one of the major shareholders in the company, which is a move to boost its own smart home business.

According to a KrAsia report, Xiaomi has invested 139 million Yuan (roughly 20.7 million US Dollars) into the Dongyi Risheng. This will have the former buy 21 million shares from Dongyi Tianzheng Investment Co, at a price of 6.62 US Dollars per share. At the moment, Dongyi Tianzheng Investment holds 256.4 million shares before the completion of the deal.

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According to Dongyi Risheng’s official filing, “The company will leverage on Xiaomi’s wide presence in the Internet of things (IoT) sector, as well as its own accumulation in the home decoration sector and its own digitization capabilities, to explore how AI and IoT technologies can integrate with home appliances to provide a smart living for consumers.” In other words, the home decorations maker is also gaining from the transfer of shares and will branch out to IoT products as well.

The move from Xiaomi will also allow it to grow its own smart home products business. The two companies have been cooperating since July 2020, and after the signing of the strategic partnership, Dongyi will bring the smartphone maker and its partners’ products into its current sales channel. Meaning, this would help the Xiaomi IoT product penetration rate as well.

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Xiaomi has just launched a range of new products in India. The company unveiled multiple devices to grow its IoT portfolio in the region, with new Mi Speakers, watches, bands, shoes, and more.

Mi Smart Speaker

The Chinese tech giant has just launched its latest Mi Smart Speaker in India. The speakers are built on a metal mesh with 10531 sound holes and a 63.5mm sound driver for a rich sound experience. The 12W speaker is placed at the front and covers a range of areas. It also features professional DTS tuning and Texas Instruments’ TAS5805M Hi-Fi Audio Processor giving a 360° surround sound experience.

Being a smart speaker, the device from Xiaomi also supports Google Assistant that makes the device more interactive. Users can even set up the Mi Smart Speaker with the Google Home app to better control various smart home products like lights, thermostats, smart security cameras, and more. In other words, it can be controlled with ease and even supports Hindi as a language input. The Mi Smart Speaker starts from 3,999 INR and will be available via Mi.com, Mi Homes, Flipkart.com, and retail stores, with buyers receiving a 1 year free subscription from Gaana. The inaugural price of the device is currently 3,499 INR (roughly 47 US Dollars).

Mi Athleisure Shoes

Through the Mi Athleisure Shoes, Xiaomi aims at growing its health centric clothing and other apparel. It arrives with a trendy and vibrant design, being built for sports. The shoes have a honeycomb mesh that helps provide wider air circulation and superior breathability to keep your feet fresh all day long. It also offers added comfort through its ventile Insole with shock-absorbing EVA foam.

For grip, the Mi Athleisure Shoes features a ZiG forward grip to prevent any accidental slips to maintain the best workout experience. The shows also have a reflective strip and arrive in 3 different color variants, namely Blue, Gray, and Black, making it suitable for everyday use. The new shoes from Xiaomi will be available at a price of 1,499 INR (roughly 20 US Dollars) and can be purchased from Mi.com and select Mi Homes.

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Mi Smart LED Bulb

Xiaomi has also launched the Mi Smart LED Bulb, which emits 810 lumens of cool white light and consumes just 7.5W of energy. It is compatible with the Mi Home app, meaning, one can to the smart bulb and either increase or reduce brightness and also schedule it to turn on or off on the moment you reach home. It can also be activated via voice control through your voice assistant from a smart speaker like Alexa or Google Assistant. The Mi Smart LED Bulb is priced at just 499 INR (roughly 7 US Dollars) and will be available through Mi.com and Mi Homes.

Mi Automatic Soap Dispenser

Since personal hygiene and hand care has become increasingly more crucial due to the coronavirus pandemic, Xiaomi has launched a new household product to offer a modern design to a traditional product. The Mi Automatic Soap Dispenser arrives with a durable build that fits seamlessly into customers’ bathrooms and kitchen. It is powered by a low noise motor and sports an infrared sensor to dispense soap foam in a completely contactless manner. It is priced at 999 INR (roughly 14 US Dollars) and will be available via Mi.com and Mi Homes as well.

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With the advent of newer networking standards, connectivity has become the backbone of various fields especially related to technology. Thus, the Xiaomi IoT eSIM provider, Showmac Tech, is banking on eSIMs becoming the integral infrastructure that allows for seamless and stable communication between devices and has even raised a large sum in funding.

Back in 2017, Xiaomi had invested in the then startup company, Showmac, that has now convinced more investors as it raised over 100 million yuan (roughly 15 million US Dollars) in funding in a Series A+ round. Lily Liu, founder and chief executive of Showmac said in an interview with TechCrunch that, “We believe cellular communication will become a mainstream trend in the era of IoT. WiFi works only when it’s connected to a small number of devices, but when the number increases dramatically it becomes unreliable.”

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For those unaware, an eSIM basically acts like a traditional SIM card (subscriber identity module). However, it does not require a removable card, which also does away with the need for a SIM card slot on a device. In its place, dedicated eSIM is integrated into the device’s chip and is compatible with a number of telecom operators. In other words, an eSIM also works like an application or software development kit (SDK).

Showmac Tech began its pilot project when it supply Xiaomi’s ecosystem with eSIMs that helped in connect separate devices. At the moment, the company is currently targetting IoT products and a connection management software as a service. So far, Showmac has equipped more than 10 million devices, out of which over 30 percent are for Xiaomi.

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Xiaomi, Wednesday, announced its performance report for the first quarter of 2020. The first quarter of the year 2020 was dominated by the Coronavirus epidemic in China which soon spiralled into a global health crisis. Despite the economic challenge posed by the pandemic, Xiaomi’s Q1 performance is pretty impressive as shown in the report. The company’s revenue and profit far exceeded expectations. Its 5G mobile phones also performed very well.

In the first quarter of 2020, Xiaomi Group’s revenue reached 49.7 billion yuan, an increase of 13.6% year-on-year. The company also posted an adjusted net profit of 2.3 billion yuan, representing an increase of 10.6% year-on-year. The smartphone business raked in 30.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.3%. This accounted for 61.0% of the company’s total revenue in Q1.

Xiaomi’s overseas market contributed 24.8 billion yuan to the company’s Q1 2020 revenue, a year-on-year increase of 47.8%. This is the first time Xiaomi’s overseas revenue would reach 50%.

In terms of smartphone units, Xiaomi sold an estimated 29.2 million units which represent a year-on-year increase of 4.7%. According to data from research firm Canalys, Xiaomi’s global market share rose to 11.1% and the company is ranked fourth globally.

Canalys data also shows that the penetration rate of Xiaomi 5G mobile phones in the Chinese market reached 25.9% which is higher than the market average.  This penetration is driven by the company’s latest 5G high-end models

The company also posted results from its IoT platform as well as the smart TV business. As of March 31, the number of connected devices on the Xiaomi IoT platform reached 252 million (excluding smartphones and notebooks), a year-on-year increase of 42.6%. The number of users with five or more connected devices on the Xiaomi IoT platform also reached 4.6 million, year-on-year An increase of 67.9%. The XiaoAI voice assistant’s monthly active users reached 70.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 54.9%. Finally, Mijia app’s monthly active users reached 40 million. For the MIUI platform, monthly active users reached 330 million, an increase of 26.7% year-on-year.

The company also posted results from its other product categories. The smart TV business recorded a shipment of 2.7 million units worldwide, ranking among the top five in the world for five consecutive quarters and ranking first in the Chinese mainland market. Xiaomi routers grew 124.0% year-on-year, and Xiaomi true wireless Bluetooth headsets grew 619.6% year-on-year. Mi Band shipment also increased by 56.0% year-on-year while the Mijia electric scooters increased by 40.7%. On its part, the Mijia robot vacuum cleaner recorded an increased shipment of 40.0% YoY.

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When Xiaomi first made its entry into Europe, some persons were left disappointed with the number of products that were available to buy. Xiaomi has garnered a towering reputation for its large ecosystem consisting of smartphones, smartwatches, smart home gadgets and other IoT products. Over time, the Chinese brand has released more products on Mi Stores across various European cities. The company may even be planning to release more IoT products in Europe if a leaked list of upcoming Xiaomi IoT products is to be believed.

The list is said to contain Xiaomi’s product roadmap for the European market and contains some products that haven’t been launched at all, like the mi TV Stick. Also, some of the products have already been announced when Xiaomi announced the Mi 10 series for Europe. The Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 is one of them, the Mi AIoT Router AC2350 is another. Both products alongside the Mi Robot Vaccum Mop 1C and Mi TV Stick are expected to be released in May.

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Other products on the list include the Mi Smart Standing Fan 1C, Mi Home Security Camera 1080p (Magnetic Mount), Mi Smart Home Hub, Mi Temperature and Humidity Monitor 2 and Mi LED Smart Bulb White, expected to be released in June. The Mi Electric Scooter 1S, Mi Electric Scooter Lite, Mi Electric Scooter Pro 2, Mi Smart Standing Fan Pro, Mi Robot Vacuum Mop Essential, Mi Light Sensor FCA HK and Mi Portable Photo Printer are scheduled for release in Europe in July.

Here's the entire list of Xiaomi's Smart IoT products that will be launching in Europe in upcoming months!
Thanks to my exclusive Chinese source pic.twitter.com/qQMH3FTGyX

— Sudhanshu (@Sudhanshu1414) April 16, 2020

This is amazing news, even though it still remains a rumour at this point. If it turns out to be true, it is definitely the right step in the right direction for a company who has got a huge following in Europe.

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