Xiaomi plans on doubling its number of engineers at its research and development center in Japan. The company seeks to expand its presence in the region as its rival Huawei struggles due to pressures from US sanctions.

The Chinese tech giant made the announcement earlier this week, marking a year after the company made an entry into the Japanese market. Furthermore, Xiaomi even plans to relocate to new offices in Japan to double its overall employee count in the region. At the moment, Xiaomi is the world’s fourth largest smartphone manufacturer, but it aims to surpass Apple and Huawei in terms of global output next year, as per a NikkeiAsia report.

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Thus, the company is focusing on the Japanese market, which it believes has a potential for growth. It even plans to roll out more than 15 consumer electronic appliances and other gadgets in the country as well, which can be paired with smartphones in the arriving year. At the moment, Xiaomi has not disclosed the exact number of engineers that it employees. Notably, the Chinese competitor Huawei arrived in the Japanese market before Xiaomi, although, it is currently on uneven grounds as it struggles after the impacts of the US sanctions that have disrupted its supply chain.

Back in 2019, Huawei only held a 5 percent market share in Japan, which leaves a lot of space for other Chinese tech giants to capitalize on. Since it has arrived in Japan, Xiaomi has offered products like budget friendly handsets, rice cookers, and even air purifiers. It even launched its first 5G enabled handset in September 2020. As the company is expanding its production capacity, we can expect it to rival if not beat Huawei, which is in dire straits.

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Xiaomi had recently released a new promotional video for the launch of its Redmi Note 9 series in Japan. This video had showcased the lineups 30W fast charging rates, but unfortunately, the company depicted this in the form of a nuclear blast. Now, Xiaomi Japan has issued an official apology through Twitter.

The Xiaomi advertisement commemorating the Redmi Note 9 series depicted various peculiar scenes. This includes a “fat man” flying into the sky after breaking through the rood with “Tokyo Asakusa” in the background. This is followed by a nuclear bomb explosion, which clearly misses the mark regarding what it intended to portray and the sentiments it ended up actually hurting.

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For those unaware, the nuclear explosion dropped in Nagasaki, Japan during World War II was codenamed, “fat man.” This bomb was dropped from a white balloon. So, you can see regardless of intention, there are clear hints at the horrendous event that had taken place decades ago. Xiaomi Japan has since issued an official apology on Twitter stating, “We have posted a review of the latest product promotion video. We will work to prevent it from happening again in the future.”

The official apology reads, “This latest product promotion for the overseas market contained ill-considered content and the video has been removed. Xiaomi respects users and cultures around the world, and we will be closer to our users when producing new products that promote them. We will do everything we can to prevent it from happening again in the future and to resolve the problem.”

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Xiaomi had an event today in Japan to mark its official entry into the island nation. The Chinese tech giant was supposed to launch in the country next year but decided to make it early. At the event today, Xiaomi announced five products including the Mi Note 10 series, the Mi Smart Band 4, Mi Power Bank 3

Mi Note 10 Series

The Mi Note 10 series are the only smartphones Xiaomi announced at the event today. The Mi Note 10 (6GB + 128GB) has a price tag of JPY 52,800 (~$489) excluding tax while the Mi Note 10 Pro (8GB + 256GB) will sell for JPY 64,800 (~$597) excluding tax. Both phones will be sold by Amazon Japan. Pre-order starts today for the two devices but the Mi Note 10 will go on sale on December 16 while the Mi Note 10 Pro will go on sale on December 23.

The Mi Note 10 has a 6.47-inch AMOLED FHD+ display with a waterdrop notch and Gorilla Glass 5. It is powered by the Snapdragon 730G processor and packs a 5260mAh battery with support for 30W fast charging that allows you to charge the device from empty to full in just 65 minutes.

The phone has a 32MP selfie camera and a 108MP penta-camera setup on the back. The primary sensor is paired with a 12MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom, another 5MP 5x optical zoom camera, a 20MP ultrawide angle camera, and a 2MP macro camera. There is NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, dual SIM support, an audio jack, a USB Type-C port, and an in-display fingerprint scanner.

The Mi Note 10 Pro has nearly the same specs but its 108MP camera has an 8P lens and not a 7P lens like the standard version. It also has more RAM and storage.

Mi Smart Band 4

The Mi Smart Band 4 is Xiaomi’s latest fitness tracker and it has made its way to Japan. The Mi Smart Band 4 will be sold for JPY 3490 (~$32) excluding tax by Amazon Japan. Pre-orders begin today while sale begins on December 23.

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Mi Power Bank 3

The Mi Power Bank 3 10000mah version brings 18W fast charging support for JPY 1899 (~$18) excluding tax. The power bank will be available in blue and silver and sold by Amazon but there is no mention of when it will be available for purchase.

Mi Power Bank 3 10000mAh Japanese version

The Mi Power 3 10000mAh is different from the one that launched in China early this year. The one sold in Japan has two full-size USB output ports rather than one. Its USB Type-C port is also only an input port, not a 2-way port. The power button is also a circle and no pill-shaped. You still get a MicroUSB port.

Xiaomi says the power bank is also allowed on flights.

Mi IH Rice Cooker

Rice is a pretty popular food in Japan, so it is a smart move for Xiaomi to launch its Mi IH Rice Cooker in the market. This is a smart home product, so it works with the Mi Home App.

The rice cooker will sell for JPY 9,999 (~$92) excluding tax. There is no info on availability.

Mi Luggage

If you are a frequent traveler, then Xiaomi’s Mi Luggage will surely interest you. It will be available in Japan in two versions: a metal version with an aviation-grade aluminum body and a JPY 17,990 price tag and a more affordable JPY 7990 (~$74) version made of Makrolon. These suitcases will also be sold by Amazon.

The metal version comes in silver while the Makrolon version is available in blue, gray, and black. Both are 20-inch suitcases with TSA approved locks and adjustable handles.

MIX ALPHAは未来すぎだろぉ！
カッコええ(･o･;)
by UZUMAX#ThisIsMi #SmartLifeMedeSimple pic.twitter.com/bg50nMzTft

— Xiaomi Japan (@XiaomiJapan) December 9, 2019

Xiaomi also had the Mi MIX Alpha on display at the event but it was in a sealed box and could not be touched. Surprisingly, no Redmi products were announced at the event.

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Early last month, we reported that Xiaomi is planning to enter the Japanese market by 2020. Technically, plans have already been underway and it appears the Chinese giant will be making its formal entry into Japan earlier than expected.

The official Xiaomi Japan Twitter account has announced that there will be an event on December 9. A rough translation of the caption for the tweet says the company is arriving in Japan earlier than planned and will officially enter into the market on December 9.

予定していたよりも早く日本の皆様にお会いできることとなり、 大変嬉しく思っています。12月9日のXiaomi日本参入をお楽しみに!! pic.twitter.com/sJGDdEELbt

— Xiaomi Japan (@XiaomiJapan) December 2, 2019

At the moment, we do not know which products will be announced on that day but we are pretty sure the account will drop teasers as the event draws closer.

A lot of folks are excited about Xiaomi’s entry into the market as it may herald the launch of fully-waterproof Xiaomi phones. Water-resistance is a common feature of phones sold in Japan, so we expect Xiaomi will want to cater to the market by adding it to its devices.

Other than phones, we are pretty sure there will be a number of smart home products announced at the event such as TVs, bulbs, air conditioners, and air purifiers. Japan may also get some lifestyle products too.

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