Smartphone major Xiaomi on Friday unveiled its flagship 5G handset - Mi 10 - that features a 108MP quad-camera setup as well as a content streaming device and wireless earbuds as it looks to further strengthen its presence in the connected devices market in India.
The launch comes at a time when the smartphone industry has been hit by the COVID-19 outbreak.
"With Mi aim to redefine the premium smartphone experience for consumers in India. With its flagship OIS enabled 108MP Quad Camera setup, UHD 8K video recording, world's fastest 30W wireless charging, we hope our users can create content in a way never thought possible before, with Mi 10," Xiaomi India Managing Director Manu Kumar Jain said at the launch event.
He added that the company plans to bring multiple devices under the Mi brand to India this year.
Earlier this year, Xiaomi had said it intended to offer more premium experiences to customers via the Mi brand. Its Redmi franchise of devices would offer more mass market products, while Mi devices will focus on innovation and flagship features.
The Mi 10 5G features a 108MP quad-camera setup, Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset for 5G connectivity, 8GB RAM, 4,780mAh battery, and 30W wireless charging. It will come in two memory variants - 128GB (Rs 49,999) and 256GB (Rs 54,999) and will go on sale across platforms on May 18.
According to analysts, smartphone shipments grew 1.5-4 per cent in the March quarter, and demand in the smartphone category is expected to revive only by the third quarter. After 40 days of lockdown, which began on March 25, certain business activities like opening of standalone stores and e-commerce delivery of non-essential items have been allowed in Green and Orange Zones (locations with few or no COVID-19 cases). Companies are also looking at resuming production after getting necessary approvals from state governments.
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Xiaomi, on Monday, had said it expects production of its smartphones in the country to return to normal capacity by next month, and demand returning by third quarter (July-September). It has also introduced an offline-to-online solution called "Mi Commerce" for its retail partners to help customers discover and buy products offline while staying at home.
There has been a significant growth in consumption of content via digital platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. While the company has its range of smart TVs, it has launched the Mi Box 4K to woo users who have non-smart TVs but want to consume online video services.
Xiaomi's Android TV streaming media player, which will compete with devices like Amazon Fire TV Stick, supports 4K Ultra high definition video content playback.
Running on the latest Android TV version (9.0), Mi Box 4K allow users to access content from platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+Hotstar, YouTube as well as over 5000 apps/games on the Google Play store.
Mi Box 4K comes with built-in Chromecast that allows users to cast up to 4K Ultra-HD content from mobile, tablet or laptops (Windows/MacOS) onto the TV screen. Priced at 3,499, Mi Box 4K has a 2GB RAM, 8GB of flash storage and will be available from May 10.
The Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 will be priced at Rs 4,499 and be available starting May 12.