That’s more than $100 cheaper than the base iPhone 17, introduced just weeks before during Apple’s annual product launch event.
Lei is going after longtime foe Apple in the most direct fashion, shifting Xiaomi’s branding and timing to measure his products against the US company’s best. In a two-hour online presentation, the CEO orchestrated a side-by-side comparison with the iPhone on battery life, display quality and camera capabilities.
On Thursday, Lei also pitted his cars against Tesla’s, singling out the Model Y.
Xiaomi has carved out a space for itself in a market dominated by Shenzhen-based BYD Co. and Elon Musk’s Tesla. By the June launch of its second car, the YU7 SUV, Xiaomi’s first model was outselling the Tesla Model 3. That was slightly more than a year after the first deliveries started in the spring of 2024.
The firm’s gross margin could expand to 22.8% this year, we calculate, due to improving economies of scale and product mix.
Beyond smartphones and its budding EV venture, Xiaomi is also endeavoring to bolster its chipmaking capabilities.
This year, Lei said the company plans to invest at least $7 billion into developing its own mobile processor and it now has a team of 2,500 focused on that task. The company showcased its Xring O1 chip in May, designed to power a new generation of devices including the Tablet 7 Ultra.