In the world of smartphones there are three classes of manufacturers. A premium manufacturer that can put any price on the device sold and it will not receive complaints from fans. Apple, Huawei and Samsung occupy this highest strata.
Then in the second class are manufacturers from China who a few years ago had a reputation for being cheap but still worth it and now want to push themselves to the first level. Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi are the three best examples of this class.
The third class is lesser -known brands that are still a year of corn like Infinix. Manufacturers in this class cater to the needs of consumers who cannot afford to spend more without any dreams of becoming the world’s five largest device manufacturers.
Xiaomi for the past three years has not kept secret its dream of becoming the world's number one smartphone manufacturer. Their Ultra series is among the devices with the latest technology but based on reader comments we see not many people take “The Little Rice” seriously as they are building a name as an affordable device brand.
When they launched the Xiaomi 12 in Malaysia this year, many also complained that the device was no longer offered at the "Xiaomi price". This grievance is well -founded because before OnePlus called themselves the killer of flagship devices, Xiaomi had earlier offered their flagship devices at a very cheap price.
This reputation is actually a stumbling block to Xiaomi’s efforts to stand as high and sit as low as Apple, Huawei and Samsung. Their users have been buying the device because of the price and not for social status. Never again have we found their fans asking for an expensive premium flagship device offered by Xiaomi.
The fact is that to be a respected brand, Xiaomi needs to impress Apple, Huawei and Samsung users. From observations and data that have been shared before, many loyal Huawei fans have moved to Honor to meet the needs of flagship devices with 5G support. Many Samsung users have also moved to Apple to climb the social strata.
The majority of Apple users will not move to Apple unless they can no longer afford to buy an iPhone due to financial problems or in an isolated case buy the Galaxy Z Fold3 as it is a more luxurious flex device than the latest iPhone model.
We sincerely say we have never met a single user from this Great Trinity who moved to Xiaomi because they felt Xiaomi was producing a device that felt better. If you have ever met, please state it in the comment space because it is very rare like the Nujum Pak Belalang riddle. So the announcement of a collaboration between Xiaomi and Leica this week will change this situation.
Why we say this is by looking at how Huawei’s trajectory changed after partnering with Leica in 2017. Jump into DeLorean Marty McFly now and try to recall whether you know the name of the device that Huawei existed before the Huawei P9 with Leica lenses launched. If your answer is Nexus 6P you are actually just confirming our theory that Huawei is not so well known to many to collaborate with more reputable brands and in this case Google.
Huawei P9 Leica
We have been fortunate to have been in the world of technology since 2005. When Huawei first launched their smartphones in Malaysia, their representatives thanked the media for their willingness to cover it. A joke that is often heard in the early days of Huawei is that not many people know how to pronounce the company name correctly.
As one of the first countries to receive Huawei devices outside China, Malaysia is seen as important enough that Richard Yu came to launch it in our country. Among technology enthusiasts, Huawei is a brand that is more synonymous with Internet modems used by Streamyx.
After the Huawei P9, everything changed. In Malaysia alone, 250,000 units of this device have been sold. A large number for Huawei at the time. Praise was given to Huawei for the P9’s dual-camera system offering a monochrome lens that was rarely offered at the time. Leica-style snapshots can be taken and it’s not just a gimmick because Leica Summarit lenses are used.
The collaboration between the two companies at the time attracted the attention of photography enthusiasts as well as smartphones at the same time. Personally we were surprised by the color science P9 which is very bright, sharp with quite vivid colors. In stark contrast to Apple which values "originality" and Samsung which enhances the color to an extreme.
Huawei’s brand prestige is growing with each new P and Mate series device with Leica lenses marketed. The P30 Pro for example surprised the world with its night mode and the best zoom system ever seen on a smartphone. Until now we feel the camera quality of the Huawei P30 Pro is still able to compete with newer devices. Our personal experience is that around 2019, many family members started asking the same on Huawei devices worth buying or not. Their brand is well known to the corners of the village.
Huawei soared to become the world’s second largest manufacturer with it almost overtaking Samsung in just a few years after partnering with Leica. The dream of becoming the world's number one smartphone maker was shattered after Huawei was imposed a trade ban by the United States three years ago.
Xiaomi is now comfortable as the world's third largest smartphone maker. Achieved without a real premium flagship device. The disadvantage of Xiaomi devices from the beginning is that the performance of the camera is still not at the level of Apple, Huawei and Samsung. With Huawei now like living using a ventilator, the time has come for Xiaomi to take their place in the top class.
The Xiaomi 12 Ultra is expected to launch around July with lenses and software developed with Leica. We are confident that this is the last catalyst needed to propel the Xiaomi brand into the stratosphere. In just another year it is no surprise if Xiaomi will be the world’s number one smartphone maker as they have dreamed.
With a camera system that will be comparable to what Apple and Samsung can afford to offer, we only request that Xiaomi's second weakness be fixed after this. Fix issues that have been lingering for a long time on MIUI Global and don’t forget to provide update support for up to five years.