Xiaomi company: country of origin of the brand, features and interesting facts

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Xiaomi (manufacturing country - China) was founded not so long ago, in 2010. And only in the current, 2018, it became public. Today, its products enjoy impressive popularity, especially phones.

And now I would like to tell you in detail about the history of this company, as well as how it has achieved such success.

About the founder

So, Xiaomi's manufacturing country is China. The largest company was founded by Lei Jun, an IT specialist.

Lei Jun grew up in the small town of Wuhan where he studied at the local programming institute. Inspired by the life of Steve Jobs, he decided that he would create his own company. Even then, he set himself the goal of producing products that would be no worse than top brands.

Lei Jun gained experience in porting offers while working at Kingsoft. It helped him later. He also invested in various Internet projects, which gave him a good profit. In total, he invested in 20 startups. Among them are Vancl online clothing store and Lakala payment service.

It should be noted that it was Lei Jun who created the Joyo website, which sells media files and books. In 2004, he decided to sell this store to Amazon for $75 million, and in 2011 he left the post of CEO of Kingsoft.

Partners

In 2010, Lei Jun, with seven companions, opened a company that is today one of the most famous in the field of technology. And here are his partners:

• Bing Ling is a former chief engineer at Google and Microsoft.
• Guangping Zhou - Head of Motorolla China.
• Andy Rubin is a former Apple Process Engineer and is now a lead developer of the Android OS.
• Jiangzhi Guang is a former employee of Microsoft China.
• Hugo Barra is a former Google employee who later became VP of Android OS development.
• Gonk Feng - Formerly Head of Google China.

Registration of a legal entity fell on April 6th. But prior to that, Bing Ling and Lei Jun had been discussing mobile trends for several months.

Every weekend from morning to night they considered their ideas, shared their thoughts on what the ideal phone's operating system should be. Bing Ling himself said they had a passion for practical, daring ideas and good software.

First developments

The pilot product created by the company was the MIUI firmware based on the Android system. Its characteristic was the combinationApple iOS and Samsung TouchWiz styles.

This firmware significantly improved the functionality of the system, and also added a number of interesting features and chips, which led to its demand in the future.

Interestingly, such an unusual abbreviation is an abbreviation of such pronouns: "Me", "You, and "I", which translates as "I, you, I".

This is not a random name choice! Already the first version of the OS turned out to be very user-friendly and friendly. But, more importantly, it worked flawlessly and stably. No wonder that 3 years after the release, the audience of this operating system exceeded the 30 million mark.

First smartphone

It was announced on August 18, 2011. We are talking about Xiaomi Mi 1, which was released, of course, on the new Android 4.1 MIUI OS for that time. The phone also became known as Xiaomi Phone.

Its features can be listed as follows:

• 2-core 1.5GHz processor.
• 1930 mAh battery.
• Accounting for 3G traffic.
• Transflective LCD developed by Japanese electronics manufacturer Sharp. This screen retains decent picture quality even in very bright sunlight.
• Dual system partition, thanks to which you can install 2 firmware versions.
• Adreno 220 video accelerator.
• An 8MP camera that could record videos at 1080p/30fps.

The main feature of the firstXiaomi phone (manufacturing country - China) was its modest price. The relative cheapness was determined by the company's decision to save on packaging materials, advertising and offline sales.

Of course, this phone has become popular. A well-planned pre-sales campaign, affordable price, high performance - all this led to high demand even at the first stages of product sales.

Xiaomi Mi 1S

This is an updated version of the first smartphone released in 2012 in the manufacturing country. Xiaomi, as many then thought, decided to imitate Samsung by adding the letter “S” to the name, because even at that time its Galaxy models were very popular.

Although, other technology connoisseurs lean towards the version that claims that the company just wanted to create a cheaper analogue of the Sony Xperia S. This phone was extremely popular in the early 2010s. Yes, and the version is plausible: the same processor, a similar but slightly cheaper screen and a simpler camera, as well as a not so pretentious design.

Other features include:

• TFT capacitive touch screen.
• Android OS, v4.0.
• 2MP front camera.
• The presence of LED flash and autofocus.
• Wi-Fi hotspot.
• 1930 mAh Li-Ion battery.

Opening 2012

At the same time, another model came out in the manufacturing country - Xiaomi Mi2. It was decided to install a more advanced processor - a 4-core Snapdragon S4 Pro with two gigs of RAMmemory.

And this development, as they say, "shot". Released in 2012 in the manufacturing country of Xiaomi, the phone quickly became popular. After all, all the top gadgets of that time, including Motorola Razr Maxx, Galaxy S3 and HTC One S, were equipped with only one gigabyte.

The novelty was also equipped with a 4.3-inch IPS display - cheap TFT was no longer in trend. It was even covered with Dragontrail glass.

And the photosensor was also on the level. The smartphone had an 8-pixel camera with f / 2.0 aperture, made using BSI technology. And it was better than those installed in LG and Samsung. New Xiaomi already knew how to shoot in Full HD, and this set it apart from its competitors.

Line expansion

In 2013, Xiaomi (the country of origin of the brand is China) decided to start scaling. Therefore, two new items appeared:

• Advanced version of Mi 2S. Features: 13-megapixel camera and Snapdragon 600 processor.
• Light version of Mi 2A. Features: Wider screen, 1 GB RAM.

A top version of the smartphone was released a little later. And we are talking about Xiaomi Mi 3. Here are some of the characteristics of the phone at that time that really amazed potential buyers:

• Full HD screen 5 inches.
• Snapdragon 800 processor.
• 13MP camera with dual LED flash and autofocus.
• 3050 mAh lithium ion battery.

In many ways, the novelty released by Xiaomi in the country of origin and other countries was likeon Sony Xperia Z1.

Most connoisseurs of mobile technology believed that it was Sony that was trying to keep up with a very young brand. There were similarities in everything: in the square design, specifications, hardware platform, screen.

Tablet and Mi 4

Continuing to talk about the history of Xiaomi, it should be noted that by the beginning of 2014, connoisseurs of modern gadgets were already looking forward to the release of new devices from the company - tablets, to be more precise. At that time, the developers were hard at work on the next generation of the smartphone. Therefore, in August 2014, the first Xiaomi tablet was presented to the attention of the world.

It became a real event. The compact Xiaomi MiPad turned out to be a great alternative to the iPad mini. The developers have tried to improve its performance, so that it has become a godsend for both people looking for a tablet for work and gamers.

Also, a new smartphone was released - Mi 4. And this phone set an incredible record. Just 37 seconds after the official start of sales, smartphones simply ran out. No wonder - everyone wanted to buy a phone with increased performance, a thin profile and an impressive screen for only $320.

Further developments

Not to mention Xiaomi Redmi. In the country of manufacture and other countries where this phone is very common, this series of phones are very popular.

Why? Because Redmi phones are high-quality, solidstate employees on a stable platform. The first model quickly became popular, and therefore the company decided to upgrade. And it ended with the appearance of a whole line of Redmi Note.

Everything was good in these phones, the only thing missing was 4G support. But this nuance was corrected - at the end of 2014, the company released an improved new product with this option.

By early 2015, the company was already very popular in its home country of origin. Xiaomi Mi, budget Redmi, as well as Redmi Note from the middle segment were already familiar to everyone by that time. The only thing missing was a flagship gadget with a large screen. Actually, the development was not long in coming - Mi Note appeared.

The novelty was similar to Mi 4, but had a larger screen, better contrast and color reproduction, a top-end Snapdragon 810 processor and increased RAM to 4 GB.

Recent years

The company's fame since 2010 has gained impressive proportions both abroad and in Xiaomi's home country. Redmi 6A, Note 2, Mi Max and Mi Mix gadgets - what devices have been released by the company during this time!

And every year gadgets only become better and more modern. There were fingerprint scanners, more powerful batteries, good cameras with phase detection autofocus, screens developed using modern technologies … And in less than 11 months of 2016, the company released about a dozen gadgets in the Redmi line and the same number of different devices in the Mi line!

Howthe state of affairs at the moment? There were a lot of new products for 2018 - Mi Note 3, Redmi 5A and S2, Mi Mix 2S, as well as a host of other gadgets. And in 2019, the release of the flagship is expected, which will offer everything that the Galaxy S10 has. True, it will cost 2 times cheaper.

Company strategy

A lot has been said above, who is the manufacturer of Xiaomi smartphones, you also know the country in which they are produced. We also talked about how it all began and with what exactly. But how did a little-known, very young company, which began its development path at a time when technology giants already existed on the market, manage to surpass Samsung in sales in just 4 years?

It's all about strategy. For two years, the Chinese brand has been selling phones at a price that differed from the cost by only 20-30 dollars. The creators decided to make the main source of profit not smartphones, but the digital component.

The secret of success

Besides the above, there are a number of other nuances:

• The corporation has its own store of games and applications, as well as additional functions for smartphones bring many times more profit than selling phones. Xiaomi also opened an online accessories store.
• Due to the presence of fans, the brand does not need to advertise itself. Enthusiastic users of social networks and bloggers make it on their own initiative. For example, 50,000 Mi 2 phones were sold on the Sina Weibo network.
• Each userreceives an up-to-date firmware update regardless of which phone model it owns.
• The company is open for communication with ordinary users. And loyal fans of the brand are given the opportunity to buy new items out of turn.
• Lei Jun, being a billionaire, works at least 100 hours a week. And the result of this diligence is obvious - the growth of his company's shares is impressive.

Of course, these are not all the nuances that determine the success of the company. But even in the attitude of developers to their product and customers, it becomes clear why Xiaomi is the leader in sales of wearable electronics.

Resemblance to Apple

When talking about whose company Xiaomi (manufacturing country is China) and what its success story is, it is worth noting that it is often compared with the American "apple" company, and its creator with Steve Jobs.

There are similarities, but it should be taken not from the point of view of borrowing, but from the side of China's response to the arguments of the Americans. And here are some nuances about this:

• Lei Jun at all presentations appears in the same clothes as Steve Jobs before - in jeans and black golf. The billionaire retorts this remark: “Our smartphones have parts from the same manufacturers as Apple phones.”
• The only Xiaomi tablet resembles a symbiosis of colorful iPhone 5C and iPad mini. And this, by the way, is the first model with a screen whose aspect ratio is 4:3, not 16:9. Like the iPad mini, by the way.
• The appearance of the MIUI OS was perceived by many as the entry into the market of an iOS clone for owners of "Android" devices. This RAM was even jokingly called the elixir for turning an ordinary smartphone into an iPhone.
• The answer to the Apple TV set-top box was a gadget such as Mi Box. Outwardly, they are similar, only the device from Xiaomi is cheaper, more modern and more functional.
• The compact Xiaomi Mi Router Mini router is somewhat reminiscent of the Apple Magic Trackpad computer mouse. The Chinese manufacturer simply refracted the design of a gadget from one category, creating a completely new device.
• Xiaomi, like Apple, has its own set-top box for its gadgets. If Apple has iPhone, iTunes, iPad, etc., then the Chinese manufacturer has Mi Box, MiPad, Mi Router, etc.
• Xiaomi laptops have become a worthy answer to the famous Apple MacBook Air. The company has released compact computers for a variety of purposes - for study, programming, "heavy" games, for freelancers, and even for watching movies while traveling.

Well, this is where I would like to end the story about what is Xiaomi's manufacturing country, who are the founders of the company and what are its unique features.