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Xiaomi's $30 Android streamer looks exactly like a phone charger
In addition to the phablet and headphones announced today, Xiaomi also threw in a little surprise. And by "little" we do mean literally, because this new Mi Box Mini is much smaller than the company's earlier Android streaming devices; it's so small that when it's plugged into the power socket, you'd easily mistake it as a USB phone charger. Despite the reduced size, this Android 4.4.2-powered device still packs a 1.3GHz quad-Cortex-A7 MediaTek processor, along with 1GB of RAM, 4GB of flash storage, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 (for the remote control and other accessories) and support for DTS 2.0 plus Dolby Digital Plus. There's HDMI 1.4a for 1080p 3D video output, but unlike its larger, 4K-enabled sibling, the Mi Box Mini doesn't come with any USB port nor microSD slot, so you'll have to rely on the desktop remote installation software to sideload apps.
Xiaomi mocks Apple with its very own premium phablet
There's just no stopping for the world's most valuable startup. After adding an air purifier, an IP camera, a smart light bulb and the affordable Redmi 2 to its portfolio, Xiaomi is now going right after the iPhone 6 Plus with its very own high-end phablet, the 5.7-inch Mi Note. While kicking off today's keynote, CEO Lei Jun emphasized that his 6.95mm-thick, 161g-heavy phone is ever so slightly slimmer and lighter than Apple's offering. But even without the cheeky comparison, the dual-SIM Mi Note is already impressive enough, given that it's mostly wrapped in Gorilla Glass 3 on both the front ("2.5D" curved) and back ("3D" curved), with an aluminum alloy frame exposed in the middle. Most interestingly, though, is that this CN¥2,299 (about $370) off-contract base price is a tad higher than Xiaomi's usual sub-CN¥2,000 tease, but it'll unlikely deter Xiaomi fans in China.
Xiaomi's smartphone sales tripled in one year
It's no secret that Xiaomi had a banner year in 2014 and became one of the world's largest smartphone makers, but now we know just how large. The Chinese company has revealed that it sold 61.1 million smartphones in 2014, or more than three times the 18.7 million it managed in 2013. It's hard to compare that to rivals without getting more hard numbers, but it's safe to say that this fledgling firm (it was only founded in 2010) is easily outperforming companies that are old hands at the smartphone game, like LG and Sony.
A long ride on Apple's coattails scores Xiaomi a $45 billion valuation
There are plenty of tech companies out there that wish they were in Apple's position as one of the world's most valuable companies. Xiaomi -- the maker of the MiPad and MiPhone -- seems to have figured out how to quickly climb the value ladder, and it's actually easier than anyone could have imagined: Just blatantly copy Apple and fiercely deny it along the way. With its latest round of funding coming in at over US$1 billion, Xiaomi is now valued at over $45 billion, and this is how they made it happen: $45 billion... $45 billion. $45 BILLION dollars. Actual cash money. That's billion with a "B" at the front. Let this be a lesson to you, kids: You don't have to be creative to be rich.
Xiaomi passes Uber as the world's most valuable startup
As if we needed another sign of Xiaomi's skyrocketing growth, the Chinese smartphone maker says it's now the most highly valued technology startup in the world. Yes, it's even worth more than wunderkind Uber. Xiaomi announced that it raised a whopping $1.1 billion from investors, which pegged its valuation at $45 billion, slightly higher than Uber's $40 billion-plus value. For a company that didn't even exist before 2010, Xiaomi is on a roll: It was named the third-largest smartphone maker in the world earlier this year (which honestly makes it hard to think of it as a startup). And it's now focused on expansion efforts in India and Indonesia (scaling back plans to reach 10 more countries this year). It's no wonder why Xiaomi is popular in emerging markets -- its phones offer high-end specs and looks for a fraction of the price of other smartphones. While it has no plans to tackle the US or Europe yet (its next stop is Brazil next year), Xiaomi's unique strategy and massive funding could end up driving down smartphone prices everywhere.
Gartner: Smartphone sales up 20 percent, Xiaomi kicks LG out of the top 5
Reports on the meteoric rise of smartphones are beginning to sound like broken records, but there aren't any signs of that growth stopping anytime soon. Case in point: Gartner's latest stats show that smartphones sales jumped 20 percent to reach 301 million units in the third quarter. And yes, that jump came at the expense of feature phones sales, which fell by 25 percent. No surprises there, but the smartphone growth did lead to some intriguing movement among the top five smartphone vendors. Xiaomi joined the prestigious group for the first time, kicking out LG in the process. Samsung is still king of the hill, but its smartphone sales fell another eight percentage points in the quarter, leaving it with just 24.4 percent of the market.
Xiaomi may now be the third-biggest smartphone maker in world
Xiaomi, the smartphone of choice in China, just had a really good few months selling phones. According to Strategy Analytics, it reckon the new phone maker is now the third largest smartphone maker in the world, trailing only Samsung and Apple. Its shipments have tripled in the space of a year, now up to 18 million in Q3 2014, while its share of the smartphone has also more than doubled, shifting from 2.1 to 5.6 percent. Those sales also make it the 5th largest phone manufacturer (including cheaper feature phones). While Samsung (24.7 percent) and Apple (12.3 percent) still dominate, LG's recent good run, selling a record number of phones, has also moved it to fourth. Barring making it big in India, we're looking to see what Xiaomi's going to do next.
Xiaomi says it's not copying Apple, but Apple is copying HTC
Xiaomi -- the fast-rising Chinese electronics company which is quickly becoming a major player in smartphones -- has come under fire in the past for similarities between its MiPhone smartphone and MiPad tablet, and Apple's iconic mobile gadgets, but now the company is on the offensive. Taking the stage at the Wall Street Journal's WSJDLive conference, Xiaomi VP Hugo Barra brushed off claims that his company has been copying Apple's wares and suggested that perhaps it's Apple that's been doing the copying. "The iPhone 6 carries design language that is very HTC-like," Barra claimed, while also noting that he believes the quick settings in iOS 8 were inspired by Google's Android. Barra, who served as the VP of Google's Android division until his departure in 2013, also added that he isn't troubled by possible copyright suits from Apple or anyone else that may pop up in the future. No they didnt? Yes, they did! The iconic "one more thing" slide. Priceless - Xiaomi Mi4 pic.twitter.com/bD9UamXVBl - Sascha Pallenberg (@sascha_p) July 22, 2014 The Xiaomi Mi 4 was announced in July 2014 during a presentation that seemed oddly familiar to anyone with even a passing interest in Apple culture. As the event approached its conclusion, the company's founder, Lei Jun, stood on stage in a black shirt and blue jeans, before a screen that said simply "one more thing..." prior to announcing the company's new wearable, the MiBand. [via Gigaom]
Hugo Barra discusses Xiaomi's popularity, its Apple rivalry and the future
Hugo Barra, former Googler and current VP of International for Xiaomi, went on stage at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California to not only explain the company's popularity, but also to combat accusations of design theft from Apple's Jony Ive. Barra said that their designers and engineers are certainly inspired by great products, "but, well, who isn't?" "Show me a completely unique design," he said. "I bet you can't find one." He even points at Apple, stating that while the iPhone 6 is the "most beautiful smartphone ever built," it carries design language that is very HTC-like. He also quotes Time Magazine, which said that iOS 8 borrows very liberally from Android, but that's a good thing. "They took existing ideas that are good, added their twist of innovation on top, and made it better." It's this concept of building upon great ideas that Barra said is something that both companies share. "People who accuse us of theft need to take a closer look at what we do."
Xiaomi is moving some of its users' data out of China
Xiaomi's a force to be reckoned with in China -- its new phones routinely sell out online in seconds -- but its influence is steadily growing outside its native home. That's why the company's infrastructure has been quietly shifting these past few months, and VP/former Googler Hugo Barra pulled back the curtain on what Xiaomi's been up to. Long story short: it's moving user data around the world, not only to make sure its services work better, but also to better protect its users' information.
Watch Jony Ive and Elon Musk talk design and sci-fi transportation
Tired of hearing little more than soundbites from tech luminaries such as Apple's Jony Ive and Tesla's Elon Musk? Today's your lucky day. Vanity Fair has posted its full video interviews with both Ive and Musk, giving you an insight into how the two executives work. Not surprisingly, Ive's chat focuses on his design philosophies and processes, including what he thinks of Xiaomi's eerily familiar-looking products (spoiler: he doesn't see them as "flattery"). Musk, meanwhile, drops both hints about Tesla's semi-automated Model S P85D and discusses the motivations behind the science fiction-inspired transport from SpaceX and Tesla, including why it's important for humanity to go to Mars. The two discussions are lengthy at about half an hour each, but they're definitely worthwhile if you want to see what makes key industry figures tick. [Image credit: Kimberly White/Getty Images for Vanity Fair]
Lenovo is building a new smartphone brand to compete with Xiaomi
Samsung and Apple may be the two biggest names in smartphones in the western world, but in China it's all about Lenovo and Xiaomi. The two companies are among the most recognizable brands in the region, but Lenovo wants more: it's about to create a new smartphone company for the Chinese market. While the new brand name hasn't been announced, Lenovo says that it will officially open for business in April of 2015, and will focus on branded applications, consumer engagement and, like Xiaomi, selling devices online. The company's core brand isn't out of the running, though -- Lenovo phones will still be available through local carriers and retailers.
If you thought Samsung copying was bad...
In April of 2011 Apple kicked off a wave of international litigation when it filed its first lawsuit against Samsung for "slavishly copying" the user interface of the iPhone. These days, Apple and Samsung are seemingly on a path to finally put their legal squabbles behind them, though the two tech giants are still duking it out in the U.S. Court system. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Apple should be thrilled that there's now a company whose penchant for copying even puts Samsung to shame. Behold, Exhibit 1: Xiaomi hardware. Based out of China, Xiaomi markets and sells smartphones and tablets that look oh so familiar. Just last month we detailed a few examples highlighting the overt instances of Xiaomi quite shamelessly ripping off Apple with Cupertino-inspired hardware design and marketing materials. Behold, Exhibit 2: Xiaomi's MIUI operating system. Take a look at some of these photos from MIUI 6, the upcoming mobile OS from Xiaomi. The disregard for IP here is egregious that it essentially makes what Samsung did seem not so bad at all. The calendar app here is, well, it's beyond words. The copying for the calculator isn't as blatant, but the Apple inspiration still jumps off the screen. Really? Really?! The color scheme on this compass also looks strangely familiar. And of course, these are just three examples out of many. Quite comically, former Google executive and current Xiaomi executive Hugo Barra is "sick and tired" of people thinking that they're copying Apple. The upcoming Mi 4 from Xiaomi also borrows a lot of hardware design inspiration from Apple. You can see some first hand examples of that in this review from CNET and this one from Ars Technica. Both reviews have positive things to say about the device, but this blurb from Ars certainly sums things up nicely. Xiaomi is a company in need of some self-confidence, though. It has built an amazing device, but it has sullied the Mi4 by cloning the iPhone design. Xiaomi is like an extremely smart student that still cheats off the person next to it because it doesn't trust itself to come up with the right answer. You can do it Xiaomi! Just be a little more original. Xiaomi's continued derivative design hurts the company in so many ways. It makes it easy for people to dismiss the company as yet another cheap clone maker. It also limits the countries Xiaomi can expand to, because in many places, Apple would sue the company out of existence.
Next stop for Ouya Everywhere: China
Now that everyone from Google to Amazon is getting into the Android gaming set-top box business, Ouya is going to have to get creative. It's already announced plans for "Ouya Everywhere" to extend its sizable library of 900+ TV and game controller-ready games to other platforms, and now the company tells Reuters it's working out a deal with China's Xiaomi. CEO Julie Uhrmann says the arrangement will see an Ouya channel added to devices like the Mi TV and MiBox, where users can shop for and download games, and with Xiaomi "likely" committing to marketing the games. On the backend, Xiaomi, Ouya and the game's developers split the money. The $99 console has gone through a number of changes (both hardware and software) since it arrived on the scene as a Kickstarter hit, now we'll see if Asia can help provide a second wind for the platform.
Xiaomi issues fix amid privacy scare over its cloud messaging service
Earlier this week, Finland's F-Secure looked into claims that Xiaomi was secretly sending data from its MIUI-powered phones back to its servers, and it turned out to be true. Despite having not added any cloud accounts, F-Secure's brand new Redmi 1s -- Xiaomi's budget smartphone -- still beamed its carrier name, phone number, IMEI (the device identifier) plus numbers from the address book and text messages back to Beijing. Worse yet, the data was unencrypted, thus allowing F-Secure and potentially anyone to, well, get to know your Xiaomi phone very easily. Fortunately, today the Chinese company is issuing a patch to address this booboo.
Xiaomi, not Samsung, makes China's smartphone of choice
Xiaomi has been a significant contender in the phone world for a while, but it's now safe to say that the Chinese device maker has joined the big leagues. Canalys estimates that Xiaomi shipped more smartphones than Samsung in China during the second quarter of the year, making it the top vendor in its home country. Simply put, Xiaomi is a champ at making cheap yet desirable handsets -- its budget Redmi series has done a lot to boost sales, and even range-topping devices like the Mi3 (and now Mi4) are much more affordable than alternatives from the likes of Apple and Samsung.
Xiaomi's Hugo Barra emphatically denies company is copying Apple; evidence strongly suggests otherwise
Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi swears it's not in the business of copying Apple. In fact, the allegations have apparently become so loud and ever-present that former Google executive and current Xiaomi executive Hugo Barra is "sick and tired" of it. The ongoing thread of Xiaomi taking cues from the good folks in Cupertino reached a comical peak yesterday when Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun got up on stage to announce the company's new Mi Band, a extremely affordable fitness band and sleep tracker. Behold, the slide that got everyone talking. No they didnt? Yes, they did! The iconic "one more thing" slide. Priceless - Xiaomi Mi4 pic.twitter.com/bD9UamXVBl - Sascha Pallenberg (@sascha_p) July 22, 2014 Okay, it's not as if Apple has a monopoly on the English language. And hey, given how boring corporate presentations tend to be, who really cares about a company borrowing some of the secret sauce that helps make Apple product announcements so engaging. And surely, there's nothing puzzling about Lei Jun donning jeans a black t-shirt and jeans at every product launch a'la Steve Jobs, right? The thing is, Xiaomi's adoration for Apple extends far beyond the aforementioned "one more thing" slide. Indeed, many of Xiaomi's products, in addition to the most minute details of their advertising materials, seem to rely quite heavily on Apple's own work. For example, here's the Xiaomi Mi Pad which has the same screen size, resolution, and all- around design as the iPad Mini. Hmm, where I have I seen these colors before? Canary yellow, light blue, pastel pink... they all look so familiar. Ah yes, here we go. And in case you're wondering, the type plastic used on the Mi Pad is the exact same one that Apple uses on the iPhone 5c. And here we have a commercial for the Mi Pad that also looks somewhat familiar. But don't tell that to Barra because, again, he's sick and tired of the allegations. As Barra explained to The Verge, the notion that Xiaomi is copying Apple is nothing more than a "sweeping sensationalist statement" that people make because "they have nothing better to talk about." "If you have two similarly skilled designers, it makes sense that they would reach the same conclusion," he argues. "It doesn't matter if somebody else has reached the same conclusion" about, for example, a 4:3 screen ratio being preferable to the more cinematic 16:9 that most Android tablets offer. Mi is focused on making the best products that it can and refuses to shy away from a good idea just because Apple might have done it already. "We're not copying Apple's products. End of story." That's all well and good, but that's hardly the end of the story. If anything, it's missing some very important parts of the story. About a year ago, the New York Times article profiled Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun as an unabashed fan and ardent follower of Apple in general and Steve Jobs in particular. Jun told the Times that he read a book about Jobs while in college and was so impressed that he "decided to emulate him." Mr. Lei, for his part, hardly discourages comparisons to Apple and Mr. Jobs. And why would he? Founded by a group of Chinese engineers three years ago, his company sold seven million mobile phones last year by using designs that mimic the look and feel of the iPhone and using marketing that seems right out of Apple's playbook. And speaking of Apple marketing, I hopped on over to Xiaomi's website and stumbled across the company's Redmi Note. It almost looks like a Beats inspired iPhone. And lastly, John Gruber draws our attention to a photo of the Xiaomi Mi 3 camera lens which, as it turns out, is the icon Apple uses for Aperture, albeit without the "Designed by Apple in California" tag. The Mi 3: And the Aperture icon: But again, if you see Hugo Barra around town, make sure not to mention this to him. He's pretty sick and tired of these false allegations.
Xiaomi's $13 fitness band can also unlock your phone
The "one more thing" at the Xiaomi Mi 4 launch was the Mi Band, the Chinese company's first smart wearable, and it's obviously aggressively priced: Just CN¥79 or about $13! Like many of its competitors, the Mi Band tracks your movement (walking or running) plus sleeping pattern, and you can also use it as a smart vibrating alarm to wake up feeling better. Interestingly, a single charge on this waterproof device will last up to 30 days, which easily beats its competitors that tend to last for a week or less. Better yet, the band doubles as a security token that automatically unlocks your phone -- likely just Xiaomi's for now -- when within proximity. There's no word on availability just yet, but as always, Xiaomi should be debuting this in China where it'll instantly sell out.
Xiaomi's latest phone gets a steel frame, IR blaster and top specs for just $320
Having sold 26.11 million phones in the first half of this year, the beast from the East that is Xiaomi is back again with a new flagship Android phone: the Mi 4. For the first time ever, the company is adding a touch of metal -- the common SAE 304 stainless steel, to be exact -- to the phone's frame, which is sandwiched between a flat 5-inch 1080p screen and a swappable, slightly curved plastic back cover. The internal specs are as you'd expect: 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 SoC, 3GB of RAM, 16GB/64GB of internal storage, 13MP f/1.8 main camera, 8MP selfie camera, LTE radio (at last), 802.11ac WiFi plus a 3,080mAh battery. As a bonus, you also get an infrared transmitter to play with the TV (which Xiaomi also sells). As usual, the Mi 4 will be very affordable: Just CN¥1,999 or about $320 for the 16GB version, and CN¥2,499 or about $400 for the 64GB version (both off-contract, of course).
Xiaomi's 49-inch Android TV boasts 4K for just $640
The Mi Pad wasn't Xiaomi's only announcement today. Following the Chinese company's first smart TV from last September, today it has unveiled a slightly larger model with a nice surprise: 4K for just CN¥3,999 or about $640! Like its affordable predecessor, this 49-inch TV comes with built-in Android (with MIUI TV skin), though you can easily side-load other TV apps. On the hardware side, you'll find a 4K 3D panel made by either LG or CSOT within a 6.2mm aluminum bezel, and underneath that lies a MediaTek MStar 6A918 chip (1.45GHz quad-core CPU, Mali-450 MP4 GPU) plus 2GB of RAM to drive all those pixels. On top of the built-in 8GB space, you also get to add up to 64GB of storage via microSD.
