By Akriti Rana and Nimish Dubey
When Xiaomi arrived in India in 2014, not too many thought it would do well in the highly competitive Indian market. Almost eight years down the line, the brand has surprised everyone by not only surviving but actually becoming the most popular brand in the Indian smartphone market. The company is also a leading player in smart televisions, and has a significant share in fitness wearables and even in product segments like air purifiers and vacuum cleaners. The cornerstone of its success has been a strategy around pricing that is affordable to the point of being "unreal" as compared to most of the competition.
So when Xiaomi returned to the Indian tablet market with the Xiaomi Pad 5, there was a massive amount of interest and curiosity from consumers, analysts and competitors alike. The Chinese brand had tried its hand at tablets in India once before, when it had launched the Mi Pad in 2015. The tablet had met with mixed reactions and Xiaomi had then chosen to focus mainly on phones and fitness bands in the Indian market.
The Indian tablet market — slowing down, but still growing
What sparks this return to India in tablet terms? Some would say that Xiaomi's comeback comes in the wake of a revival of the Indian tablet market. In 2015, the tablet market was losing steam both in India and globally, but the COVID pandemic ironically gave it a new lease of life. The Indian tablet market grew by an impressive 14.7 per cent in 2020 as per IDC, after four years of decline. Consumer shipments recorded a very impressive 59.8 per cent growth in that year, thanks to the explosion in e-learning, as classrooms went virtual with schools being shut down or restricted due to lockdowns. Tablets were seen by many parents as a more viable option as compared to notebooks, which are generally more expensive.
That, however, might be too simplistic an assumption. For while the Indian tablet market grew again in 2021, it slowed down after the surge in 2020. As per research agency CMR, IDC, the Indian tablet market in 2021 recorded a more modest growth rate of 4 per cent, although festive discounts spurred a 31 per cent year on year growth in the final quarter of the year. The agency does not expect spectacular growth in 2022 either, thanks to supply constraints and has anticipated an overall growth rate of 5-10 per cent. This is in line with what has been seen in international markets, where tablet (and Chromebook) growth has slowed down significantly in 2021. Indeed, there are many who believe that Xiaomi might have missed an opportunity by not releasing a "budget" tablet (priced in the vicinity of Rs 15,000) in 2020. An opportunity that its rival, Realme, seems to have cashed in on.
The Xiaomi Pad 5 is nothing like the Mi Pad of 2015
The point to note, however, is that while Xiaomi is coming back to the tablet market, it is not doing so with what would be considered a "budget" tablet. The first Mi Pad was launched in India for Rs 12,999 in 2015, and was impressively specced for the price, but was still very much a mid-segment tablet. The Xiaomi Pad 5 is a very different beast. Although its official price and spec sheet is not known at the time of writing, it is definitely not going to be a mid-segment device. It comes with an 11-inch WQHD+ display with 120 Hz refresh rate, quad speakers and is powered by a near flagship level Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 processor. What's more, it comes with support for a stylus (which can be charged wirelessly) and a special cover that has a keyboard in it - both stylus and cover have to be purchased separately, though. That's a spec list that challenges the base iPad rather than a budget tablet.
The Xiaomi Pad 5's price in China was 1999 Yuan, which roughly is about Rs 24,000. Even if Xiaomi prices it below this in India - say at Rs 19,999 - it would hardly pass as a budget tablet. It would, however, still be very good value for money when you consider the alternatives from Samsung and Lenovo at this price point. It could even challenge the iPad on paper, claiming to have better speakers, a better and larger display with a higher refresh rate, newer processor, and so on. Interestingly, that is a territory that most Android tablets tend to avoid - most of Samsung and Lenovo's offerings are generally either well below or well above the base iPad. Xiaomi, on the other hand, might be looking to rattle the iPad cage.
Xiaomi is no longer a 'budget only' player
All of which makes Xiaomi's return to the Indian tablet market very different from its debut eight years ago. At that time, it had arrived with a tablet that was very much in keeping with its "astonishing specs at an amazing price" strategy. This time its offering is more expensive. The Mi Pad was nowhere near the iPad in pricing, while the Xiaomi Pad 5 is much closer to the bestselling Apple tablet. What's more, in 2015, it was rare to see Xiaomi launching a device priced above Rs 15,000. Today, the brand has a significant share of the market of phones priced above Rs 30,000; and also sells notebooks and televisions priced at more than Rs 50,000.
The Xiaomi Pad 5 therefore is a tablet that will fight not on an incredible price tag, but on performance. While its predecessor had attempted to capture a large section of the market with competitive pricing, the Pad 5 is aimed more at the premium mid-segment, a zone where performance counts for as much as price. In 2015, it would have been difficult to think of consumers investing Rs 25,000 in a Xiaomi product. Today, it is everyday business, and no longer a surprise. In fact, the Xiaomi Pad 5 seems to be positioning itself as the Android alternative to the iPad, complete with a stylus and smart keyboard of its own.
Taking on the iPad?
It is a positioning that no other tablet in India has been able to pull off so far, but Xiaomi seems to have been clever in the timing of its launch. Lenovo, which dominates the Indian tablet market, relies on much lower-priced enterprise devices, and has no recent tablets in the Rs 20,000-Rs 30,000 segment. Samsung, the other major player in the market, does not have any new tablets in that price range either. The tablets that are in that price band currently are generally slightly dated models. This leaves the field open for the Xiaomi Pad 5, which can claim to have some very high-end specifications and features. All at a price that is well below the starting price of the base iPad (Rs 30,900).
Whether Xiaomi makes a successful comeback to the tablet world will depend on the performance of the Xiaomi Pad 5 in the coming days. The Chinese brand seems to have played its cards right - the consumer tablet market is still growing, and with COVID rearing its head one more time, demand for tablets might suddenly rise again. Its competition also has been largely passive in the price segment it is targeting. Xiaomi has offered a tablet to India for the second time. It remains to be seen whether the nation will include it in its tech prescription. But given how well the brand has moved up the price ladder and branched out into different product segments, it would be foolish to bet against its prospects.