Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi has decided to drop ‘Mi’ branding as part of its restructuring. Launched in 2011, ‘Mi’ (stands for “mobile internet and mission impossible”) will now brand all their products as “Xiaomi”, as per a report by XDA.

The change was first seen in the recently released MIX 4 smartphone.

In the highly competitive smartphone category, the company has three other sub-brands -- Mi, Redmi, and POCO. POCO and Redmi, however, are expected to retain their existing brand images and compete with each other aggressively.

Xiaomi worldwide is known for its other smart products such as televisions, laptops, refrigerators, air fryers, smartwatches, scooters, robots, hair dryers etc.

As per Gadgets 360, there is no clarity if the Mi branding is being dropped for all its products or only for smartphones for the India markets. As of now, Xiaomi India is going ahead with the launch of its Mi TV 5X, Mi Band 6, and Mi Notebook scheduled at the Smarter Living 2022 event on August 26. The “Make in India” manufacturer has also revealed the Redmi 10 Prime that is scheduled to be launched on September 3.

Global Market leaders

A recently published report by Counterpoint said Xiaomi has a global market share of 17.1 percent in June followed by Samsung at 15.7 percent and Apple at 14.3 percent. Xiaomi has expanded and overtaken Huawei and Honor in legacy markets like China, Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

With China, Europe and India’s economies showing signs of revival, they have managed to firm up their position. Samsung, which has been facing challenges due to its supply constraints, is lagging. Huawei, another Chinese smartphone manufacturer, suffered after the United States blacklisted the company and banned American companies from working with them.

(Edited by : Anshul)

First Published:Aug 24, 2021 4:25 PM IST