By Barry Eitel
SAN FRANCISCO
China’s largest smartphone manufacturer released a new flagship line of smartphones Thursday, clearly battling for consumers against Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus.
Xiaomi, arguably, the world’s most valuable start-up, released the Mi Note and the Mi Note Pro – the most powerful yet from the young company that was founded in 2010.
Among supporters, Xiaomi is often affectionately referred to as the “Apple of China.”
The Mi Note features a 5.7-inch screen – the same pocket-filling size as Apple’s largest iPhone – and is powered by Snapdragon 801 processor.
Similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3, it contains 3GB of RAM, a 1080 pixel display, a 3000 mAh battery and a 13-megapixel camera.
Xiaomi pushes even more strongly into Apple territory with the Mi Note Pro, one of the most powerful smartphones ever released. With a 5.7-inch 1440-pixel LCD screen, inside the Pro boasts a Snapdragon 810 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.
The prices are noticeably un-Apple. The Mi Note retails for about $370 (2,299 yuan) for the 16-gigabyte version. The Mi Note Pro sells for around $530 (3,299 yuan). While having less options than Apple and Samsung, Xiaomi is aiming for a luxury customer.
This is a bit of a turn – Xiaomi came to its quick success by gobbling up the budget smartphone market. Throughout 2014, Xiaomi fiercely competed with the much larger and more established Samsung by squeezing the South Korean company in the cheaper end of the device spectrum.
The Mi Note will be available in China on Jan. 27, but Xiaomi did not say when the Mi Note Pro would hit store shelves.
Xiaomi has not said if the smartphones will be available outside of Asia – the company has not ventured far outside its home continent markets like China and India.
