Xiaomi 13 has been officially introduced. Xiaomi boss Lei Jun promised that this HP is a product line that shows "courage and determination" to continue the battle against Apple's latest iPhone.
Lei Jun, who is sometimes referred to as the "Steve Jobs of China", said at the launch event that Xiaomi continues to see the iPhone as a competitor, but also as a benchmark to follow.
"That's the starting point from which we may have a chance to outperform the iPhone in the future," said Lei. "Whether it's software or hardware, we look to the iPhone as the benchmark."
Xiaomi is looking to boost sales with new products, after third quarter revenue fell 9.7% YoY to 70.47 billion yuan while net profit fell 59% to 2.12 billion yuan.
Xiaomi, like many Chinese smartphone brands, relies on US chip makers to improve the performance of its phones. But Xiaomi's new phone comes as analysts gauge the potential impact of China's latest US trade restrictions, which blocked the sale of certain advanced chips and chipmaking tools to mainland-based companies.
However, as reported by SCMP on Wednesday (14/12/2022), Xiaomi President Wang Xian said during his third quarter earnings conference call last month that the latest US chip controls had no impact on the company. It is focusing on reducing high inventory in the current quarter so that levels return to healthy levels in the market in the first quarter of next year.
Xiaomi shipped 9 million smartphone units in the third quarter, giving it a 13 percent market share in mainland China. Xiaomi ranks 5th in the country after Vivo, Oppo, Honor and Apple, according to Canalys data.
