Chinese budget smartphone maker Xiaomi has launched its flagship Mi 4 smartphone device which it aims to compete directly with Apple’s forthcoming iPhone 6 as well as the Samsung Alpha smartphone.
Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s CEO and founder, made no secret of the fact that Apple are firmly with his company’s sights. At a glitzy launch event in Beijing Jun joked that not only was the Mi 4 better than the iPhone “our white version is also better than their white version.”
The Mi 4 comes with a 5-inch high definition 1080p screen and is powered by a Snapdragon 8012.5Ghz processor.
The Mi 4 will sell in China fro US$320, less than half the price of a competing iPhone 5s which costs US$650.
Xiaomi is claiming that the new Mi 4 comes with 17pc greater resolution than the iPhone 5s.
Shifting sands in the smartphone space
The Xiaomi Mi 4 smartphone
The emergence of Xiaomi is not only a threat to Apple – which is due to reveal its Q3 earnings tonight – but also to Samsung which recently reported disappointing sales in China.
Samsung, which is squaring up to the threat of two larger 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone devices from Apple is also preparing its competing device.
South Korea-headquartered Samsung is expected to launch a device in September called the Alpha, which will be a mix between the Galaxy S5 and the Galaxy Note phablet computer/phone.
