Bengaluru: Even as the Indian smartphone market is growing in terms of shipments and handset makers go on a launching spree from time to time, Xiaomi sub-brand Redmi says it does not want to confuse buyers with a lot of smartphone launches at short intervals. In an exclusive interview with ABP Live, Raghu Reddy, Chief Business Officer of Xiaomi India, explained why the company is not flooding the Indian smartphone market with new launches and what gives it an edge over its competitors in the budget to mid-range price segment.
"In general, our company philosophy has always been about less is more. In 2020, we launched the Redmi Note 9 series and then in 2021, we unveiled the Redmi Note 10 series. So, we believe that we should be launching products once a year, but when we launch them, we should be able to give so many new things to the end customer that they feel that there is genuinely a good reason for them to upgrade," Raghu Reddy, Chief Business Officer of Xiaomi India, told ABP Live on the sidelines of Redmi Note 11 Pro series launch.
Redmi intends to give time and quality products to end consumers before they upgrade
The Xiaomi sub-brand also noted that it does not want the customers to upgrade too quickly even as it eyes growth in the country. Redmi recently announced that the sales of the Redmi Note series smartphones have exceeded 24 crore units globally. The company's milestone was recently announced by Lu Weibing, General Manager of Redmi.
"So we believe that giving people the chance to enjoy the technology by launching at intervals and this will also not force them, in a way, to keep upgrading very, very rapidly. So which is why you will see one launch from us every year. A series is something that will typically last a year or so," Reddy added.
Asked if Redmi will follow the same pattern of unveiling one device in a series this year too, Reddy said: "It's generally been the philosophy for Redmi. I mean, we were very, very methodical when we launch a product, especially when it comes to a Redmi series device. We try to bring in a lot of things on that particular device, something that's not available in that price segment."
"You have to wait for meaningful innovations to happen in the market and that takes time," Reddy noted.
Chip shortage is real, but component procurement for 4G and 5G devices take equal time
The senior Xiaomi executive noted that the global shortage of components that have been affecting the smartphone industry since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic is slowly easing. Asked if there is a big difference between procuring components for a 4G and a 5G smartphone, Reddy added: "The chip shortage has been real, but there is not much of a difference when it comes to procuring chipsets or components for a 4G and a 5G device."
Redmi vs competitors
According to the senior Xiaomi executive, what gives Redmi an edge over its rivals in the budget-to-mid-price segment are features such as the 67W TurboCharge support that has been included in the Redmi Note 11 Pro line and 120Hz refresh rate among others.
"The new Redmi Note series is one of the few devices in its price segment to actually offer 67W TurboCharge support. There is also a very high-resolution camera sensor on this line," mentioned Reddy.