Xiaomi launches MiNote, a new iPhone competitor

Global Business

The tech world is abuzz about Chinese tech company Xiaomi’s bid to compete with Apple and Samsung. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun unveiled the MiNote and MiNote Pro on Thursday, both are cheaper than similar iPhone models. CCTV’s Xia Cheng reported this story from Beijing.

Xiaomi launches MiNote, a new iPhone competitor

The tech world is abuzz about Chinese tech company Xiaomi's bid to compete with Apple and Samsung. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun unveiled the MiNote and MiNote Pro on Thursday, both are cheaper than similar iPhone models. CCTV's Xia Cheng reported this story from Beijing.

Lei announced the new models by directly comparing them to the iPhone 6 plus, saying they were thinner, cheaper, and had bigger screens. Some have criticized Xiaomi of copying its competitors, including the use of the word “note” in product names.

The new phones were Xiaomi’s second product launch in six months after the Miphone 4, which wasn’t a huge success.

Xiaomi has been working create new buzz in the market, including investing 1.2 billion yuan in smart home appliances. It’s also aggressively expanded worldwide.

“Chinese consumers, from our perspective, are the most sophisticated mobile consumers in the world,” Bryan Wang, vice president of the Forrester Market Advisory said. “What Chinese consumers want now, reflects actually what the global market will be in the next two years. So that is why Xiaomi really wants to get into everything. Three years down the road, nobody can really challenge Xiaomi’s position in this area.”