The Xiaomi RedMi, one of the most popular phones in the world, according to Strategy Analytics’ Country Share Tracker in Q2 2014
With all the excitement over Apple and Samsung devices, it is easy to remember that they aren’t the only ones who make fantastic phones. The popular Chinese smartphone maker, Xiaomi is rumored to have plans to extend their products to the U.S. and it might just give pause to the other smartphone vendor giants.
In fact, while the name Xiaomi probably doesn’t mean anything to readers in the U.S., they are actually the world’s fifth largest smartphone vendor. Yeah, you read that right. Not China; the world. In China, the devices account for roughly 14% of smartphone shipments in the country and Xiaomi is the top smartphone vendor there, according to Canalys.com.
And I can’t say I’m surprised. Looking at a few of their phone specs, they sell phones with decent specs for around $100 or so, while their competitors will stick $300-$500 price tags on very similar devices. While U.S. consumers are finicky about brands they aren’t familiar with, one thing we tend to love is a good deal. It will be interesting to see if they can oust some of the other smartphone makers, or at least push down the prices some (because, maybe it’s just me, but $1,000 for an iPhone 6 Plus seems a little outrageous).]]>
