It has been a productive year for Xiaomi – it has released over 50 devices, and this figure only applies to smartphones. The company also made a small rebranding, removing the “Mi” prefix from the names of devices of the premium series – starting in the second half of 2021, the company uses only the model number, as it has always been in China. The year has not yet ended, and Xiaomi has already announced another flagship Xiaomi 12 – one of the first smartphones based on the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. I will not take into account the new twelfth series, since it is not yet on sale and all the new products are known only from the words of Xiaomi …
Success: Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
It’s hard to find it in stores right now, but the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra is one of the most memorable smartphones of 2021. Like last year’s Mi 10 Ultra, the eleventh generation Ultra demonstrates the full power of Xiaomi’s R&D potential. This flagship is not one of those that are planned to sell in the amount of tens of millions – for this the company has budget devices.
- To this topic: For the top-end smartphone Xiaomi is no longer ashamed. Review of Mi 11 Ultra with selfie screen
The focus this year has been on the camera, and it was nice to see how well the company has done, even without the backing of the big brands that rely on photography and video. Three large, high-resolution sensors combined with enhanced processing quality deliver impressive results. While the camera is by far the main reason for interest in the Mi 11 Ultra, it is still an attractive smartphone with a stunning screen and flagship performance. Sure, battery life could have been better, but overall it’s a solid flagship.
But again, the main problem with the Mi 11 Ultra is that even if you have enough money for this smartphone, most of it is simply out of stock. This is a limited edition device and is unlikely to hit the shelves in the future.
Success: Poco F3 and Poco X3 Pro
I decided to group these devices under one paragraph, since they are very similar, albeit in different price categories – for less money you will get a 120Hz display, a fast flagship Snapdragon chipset, a large battery and an average camera. If you spend more, you can buy the Poco F3 with OLED display and Snapdragon 870. Although the above chips are somewhat outdated, they are still fast and are among the ones that can handle 120fps gaming.
- To this topic: The formula for the perfect balance of price and performance. Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro review
If you don’t care about the camera and your priority is a fast processor, then these Poco models are your choice. And that’s not just my opinion – the F3 and X3 Pro sold two million units in less than 2 months after the start of sales.
Провал: Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold
What happened to the Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold? On paper, Xiaomi’s first foldable model looks great. The 8.01-inch screen is one of the largest ever in a smartphone. Desktop mode to exploit the full potential of the large screen and the Snapdragon 888 chipset. It was the first smartphone with a liquid lens to allow its telephoto lens to switch to macro mode. The Mi Mix Fold even had the company’s first image-processing chip, the Surge C1.
Mi Mix Fold is an excellent indicator of the technological development of the company’s devices, but nothing more. The only question is, was it a production problem, or a mistake in choosing a form factor? However, we never really knew how useful the liquid lens was. And the Mi Mix Fold display lags far behind competitors – they offer a higher refresh rate and even a front camera located under the display. And innovations in the hinge design have made some models waterproof.
If Xiaomi wants to participate in the foldable device race, it will have to catch up, both from a technological point of view and from a marketing point of view – geeks have long paid attention to this segment, but marketing from Samsung has attracted even ordinary people.
Успех: Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
Since its inception, the Redmi Note series has sold an impressive 240 million devices. The Redmi Note 10 Pro, like its predecessors, also sold great. In terms of characteristics, it is similar to the Poco F3, albeit with minor reservations.
Redmi Note 10 Pro does not have a flagship chipset and even 5G. But it has a 108MP main camera, which proved to be excellent in real conditions. The smartphone also has a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a slot for microSD memory cards. In addition, it has a 6.67-inch OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate.
- To this topic: Review of Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro. Better than before, but not in all
Redmi Note 10 Pro can be recommended for those who do not care about flagship performance. However, the lack of 5G support is disappointing as more and more carriers pursue their 5G plans. And while there is the Redmi Note 10 5G, there are a lot more trade-offs in it. The Redmi Note 11 series does represent a notable development over its predecessor, but it won’t hit the stores worldwide until next year.
Failure: MIUI
Skins for Android are a controversial topic. MIUI has never been the best in terms of Android updates, quite often one version of MIUI can be based on different versions of Android, depending on the device.
And, of course, this trend will not go anywhere with the release of MIUI 13. Xiaomi founder Lei Jun has promised that the stable version of MIUI 13 will be released before the end of 2021. But this does not apply to all devices. Apparently, none of the already released Xiaomi devices will receive a stable version of Android 12 until the end of the year. As for the current version of MIUI 12.5, some 2019 models received or will receive it (for example, Mi 9 and Redmi Note 7), but of course not all and not even most. The duration of the Android version support is becoming an increasingly important factor in choosing a smartphone. And even though Xiaomi has been updating the shell for a long time, as for the Android version, the company is starting to lag behind its competitors.
That being said, MIUI reached 454 million users in June, and the company is starting to gradually introduce longer support periods – the 11T and 11T Pro will receive three Android updates and four years of security patches. This is the right direction, but I would like this decision to be made with respect to other devices.
Failure: Mi Band
Until the end of April, Mi Band 6 managed to sell in the amount of one million devices, although global sales began just a few weeks before that date. Sounds impressive, but the Mi Band 4 sold that many in just 8 days. Xiaomi smart bracelets have not sold as well from time to time as we would like from time to time. Statistics show that this form factor generally sells worse than smartwatches.
- To this topic: Mi Band 6 after 3 months. Has Xiaomi finally got the perfect bracelet?
Success: Xiaomi technologies
The Mi 11 Ultra achieved impressive photography results without the fancy third-party cameras. But things are changing – since Huawei is now cut off from the international market, its partner Leica is open to suggestions. It is likely that the Xiaomi 12 Ultra could be equipped with Leica cameras, but so far these are only rumors.
The company also announced a new development in the field of cooling smartphones – the Loop LiquidCool technology, which should cool powerful chipsets so well that they do not turn to throttling.
The company has also managed to make 120W fast charging a standard, even the relatively affordable Redmi Note 11 series has this feature. A 200W charging was shown, which could be unveiled alongside flagships next year. Xiaomi is also selling a 100W wireless charger for under $ 100.
And if that wasn’t enough, the company announced plans to start mass production of its first electric car in 2024. It plans to invest $ 10 billion over the next 10 years by hiring new employees and acquiring companies such as DeepMotion, which developed self-driving technology.
Success: Xiaomi
This year has been successful for the company. In the third quarter, it overtook Apple to become the second largest in Europe (only slightly behind Samsung) and topped the Indian market. In addition, the company has conducted a 5G test in conjunction with Indian telecom operator Jio to demonstrate that the Redmi Note 11T is ready for next generation networks.
Attention! This is a translation of an article from GSMArena.
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