5 Products lines from Xiaomi, that changed the industry for ever
Xiaomi is a global brand that takes pride in calling itself a startup. The reason could be that they want to be very agile in everything they do. Their way of operating is quite different from the rest of the brands out there. There are many new brands that take up Xiaomi as their inspiration. But Xiaomi surprises them with new moves every day. Well, this article is not going to be all about Xiaomi, but about five of their product lines, which changed the respective industry for ever. This change has put the consumer at the forefront and so let take the time-traveling machine and visit 5 different industries, before and after the entry of Xiaomi. Let talk about the effect of these 5 products in the Indian market specifically.
Wearable Fitness products – Mi Band
Fitbit was one of the first brands to take the fitness bands to tie it on consumers’ hands. Wearable fitness products were once used only by athletes and sportsmen. When Fitbit came into existence, there was a boom in that industry and suddenly there was a widespread awareness about fitness. Personally, I love running, but only after my first Fitbit band, I became obsessed with running. Fitbit became a popular household name and to date, many consumers call every fitness band as a “Fitbit band”. But Fitbit was not available in India officially for a long time. It was expensive and we had to shell over Rs 10k to get a basic fitness band in India. People had to import them or use cheaper alternatives, which were not as good as Fitbit. Along came Xiaomi and introduced their first fitness band in India in July 2014. The price of the first Mi Band in India was $13 which was 1/10 of the cost of Fitbit Flex. This was just the beginning and Xiaomi kept on improving the Mi Band and the latest in the market now is the Mi Band 4 which is still 1/10 of the cost of a basic fitness band from Fitbit. But its not all about Xiaomi. Soon after the first Mi Band’s success, India saw an unprecedented launch of new brands promoting fitness band. Today if you are in the market to buy a fitness band, you don’t have to shell your monthly salary. Your choice is wide and the price is low, all credits to the success of the Mi Band in India.
As per IDC, Xiaomi remains India’s No.1 Wearable Brand for the last 10 quarters in the wrist band & overall category with over 50% market share in the wrist band category. The growth trajectory in the Indian wearables market continued to ascend strongly registering 168.3% on-year growth in 2019 shipping a total of 14.9 million units of wearable devices.
Televisions – Mi TV
My first LED flatscreen TV cost me Rs 65k. It a 42″ full HD, semi-smart TV with pre-loaded apps and connectivity to the Internet. This was just 10 years ago. If you were in the market to buy a 4K TV back then, you will have to shell over Rs 6 lakhs. I still remember myself standing in the store and drooling at the 4K Sony Bravia TV on the display and thinking that I would never be able to afford a 4K TV in my life. Little did I have knowledge back then, that there will be a change in the TV industry. Well, there were affordable TVs even back then. Onida, VU, Akai and other such brands were serving that segment. But nothing in the scale of what Xiaomi could revolutionize. Since Xiaomi launched its TV in China in 2013, it became one of the most expected products from Xiaomi to be launched in India. But finally, in Feb 2018, the first Mi TV was launched. It was a 55 inch 4K TV and was priced at Rs 39999. This sent a rude shock across the industry. Also, the industry was quick to react. The price of TVs went tumbling down and at the same time, bigger brands went in for newer technology. But today, you can easily buy a 65 inch 4K TV for less than 50k. Every brand has reduced its price to compete with Xiaomi, but Xiaomi has sold about 40 Lakh units in India since 2018.
Mobiles – Redmi Mobiles
I first knew about MIUI while searching for a custom ROM for my rooter HTC One X mobile. The android experience was so bad back then, that everyone wanted an iOS-like experience. I was not in a position to afford an iPhone back then (and even now), so I was looking for a custom ROM, that can give me an iOS-like experience. MIUI gave me that experience and ever since, I wished I had a mobile from the makers of the MIUI ROM and that wish came true. Xiaomi soon launched their mobiles in India and it set the ball rolling. The market dynamics were quite different back then. Mobiles were sold exclusively in shops and it was not easy to own a mobile if you were constrained on budge. Google Moto G mobile was the first mobile to break this barrier and start selling their mobile online via Flipkart. Then came Xiaomi and set the party on fire. They were heavily criticized for their flash sales model. But it worked out in their favor from multiple angles. Since then there was no looking back for Xiaomi and it also gave courage for other manufacturers to enter India. The Jio revolution added fuel to the fire and today, we see that the Xiaomi is the No.1 mobile seller in the country. As per the recent IDC’s ‘Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker Report’ for Q4 2019, Xiaomi, the world’s fourth-largest smartphone manufacturer, is now leading the mobile phone market (including both Smart and Feature Phones) in India for the first time
CCTV Surveillance – Mi Security Camera
CCTV was a luxury that only the big businesses could afford. I have personally helped my uncle setup a CCTV camera in his shop in my hometown. Just 2 cameras with a hub and storage option cost us over 35k and still, that was the basic cameras we got from a local service provider. The quality was SD and it lacked night vision. After Xiaomi entered the market, today you can set up a CCTV surveillance system for under 3k and you get an advanced motion detection camera with IR night vision. The local medical store near my house has one. The 6×6 grocery shop I frequent has one. CCTV has become affordable and it’s not just Mi cameras, other service providers in the field like Godrej have also reduced their pricing drastically.
Audio Accessories – Mi Audio
Earphones, wireless Bluetooth headphones and bluetooth speakers were not afforable a few years ago. I own the first generation Mi Piston earphones which I bought for Rs 999 in 2016. It is still my trusted daily driver. Along with 1More, Xiaomi introduced quality earphones at an affordable prices in India and they were an instant hit. Again, following this trend other brands entered the shores. Yes, brands like Zoook, Zebroinics existed before that, but the quality was not up to the mark. But now, including those brands, there are hundreds of brands that offer high-quality audio products in India. You don’t have to shell 1000s of Rupees to listen to quality music. A few 100s is good enough to get you going. But there is a flip side to this argument. Mobile brands were providing earphones in box and brands and Motorola and Xiaomi were one of the first ones to remove it. So people had to resort to buying 3rd party earphones. I feel that, rather than getting stuck with sub-standard earphones that came with your mobile, this move has pushed everyone to get good quality earphones at affordable prices.
To sum it up, Xiaomi has democratized the consumer tech industry in India. Many products, which were not affordable by the masses has been made affordable. They have given hope to the entire industry and pushed everyone to their limits. This has put consumers on the driving seat. Today you can go ahead and buy any product from these 5 product lines and they need not be from Xiaomi. But Xiaomi has contributed to making the product affordable in one way or the other.
