Xiaomi is trying to push the high-end smartphone market with the Xiaomi 13 Pro. It will pit the Chinese giant against rivals Apple and Samsung.
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Xiaomi launched its global flagship smartphone on Sunday as the Chinese electronics giant tries to take a slice of the market and challenge high. Apple and Samsung.
The Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro were originally launched in China in December, but now the Beijing, China-based company is bringing the device to overseas markets.
The Xiaomi 13 Pro device sports a 6.73-inch screen and the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset from the US company Qualcomm. It has a triple-lens camera and other premium features such as ultra-fast charging. The company talked about the camera’s capabilities as “co-engineered” with the German company Leica.
The Xiaomi 13 starts at 999 euros ($1,053) while the 13 Pro starts at 1,299 euros.
Xiaomi had a rough year in 2022 with smartphone shipments down 26% year-on-year, according to research firm IDC, the biggest drop among the five biggest handset vendors. The company posted a loss in the September quarter, the latest financial results available.
Xiaomi has been facing a number of problems, especially a tougher macroeconomic environment with a slowing economy in China. A total of 1.21 billion smartphones were shipped in 2022, which represents the lowest annual number of shipments since 2013, according to IDC.
“Xiaomi faces multiple headwinds in China from the popular Apple iPhone, the impressive Honor, and Chinese consumers who frequently switch between Android hardware brands at a rapid pace,” Neil Mawston, an analyst at TechInsights, told CNBC via email.
Honor is a Chinese smartphone brand spun off from Huawei.
Xiaomi has become one of the biggest smartphone manufacturers over the years through its strategy of bringing high-spec devices at competitive prices. It began to push into the overseas market about seven years ago, pursuing the same strategy. But now they are looking to push to the higher end of the market, where the margins are higher and the market is still growing.
High-end smartphones, which cost more than $800, will account for 18% of the total handset market in 2022, up from 11% in 2020, Canalys data shows. Xiaomi’s push to the premium level will go up against Apple and Samsung, which will be a challenge for its Chinese rivals. Samsung and Apple devices account for 92% of the top market by 2022, according to Canalys.
“Competing with Apple and Samsung is incredibly difficult. It’s not only a market-leading product match, but it’s especially up against huge companies with exceptional brand awareness, high-end perception, focused solution experience and a product ecosystem with high user-stickiness,” Runar Bjørhovde , research analyst at Canalys, told CNBC via email.
Xiaomi is the latest Chinese smartphone player to attempt to crack the high-end market. Oppo launched its first foldable phone for overseas markets this month priced at over $1,000.