After a challenging 2022 and some missteps, Xiaomi India made some corrections in 2023, and is now on a growth path with a clear strategy for its smartphones, said a top official at the company on Wednesday.

“We have had our share of challenges in 2022, which we corrected in 2023, and that will continue in 2024 to take care of the product portfolio. We will also have the right distribution strategy, which we have very clearly laid out...earlier, we were strong in online and had a lot of work to be done in growing offline retail capabilities, so we focussed on that in 2023 and will double down in 2024,” said Muralikrishnan B, President, Xiaomi India.

He also said the company will ensure brand building to retain Xiaomi’s existing customers with upgrades and premiumisation, and to make them advocates for the brand by “providing better experience”. When asked about the India launch of the electric car, he said the company has no plans yet.

The company is also launching its HyperOS this month, which will replace the Chinese smartphone maker’s MIUI operating system. The new OS will come starting from its flagship models Xiaomi 13 Pro and Xiaomi Pad 6.

Xiaomi will launch the latest Redmi Note 13 Series featuring three 5G-enabled smartphones on Thursday, as its first product for 2024. Going forward, the company will launch more products which are 5G-enabled at a price range of ₹10,000-15,000.

“By focussing on HyperOS, we will further foster an integrated smartphone along with AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) experience. Among all the companies in India, I think Xiaomi is at a unique position to not just attempt, but also deliver an integrated smartphone AIoT strategy, because we already have the portfolio of smartphones, tablets, smart televisions, air/ water purifiers, robot vacuum cleaners and wearables,” said Muralikrishnan.

smartphone leader

According to market research firm Counterpoint, Xiaomi led the India smartphone market for the second time in 2023 with a 20 per cent share in November, and also featured three smartphones in the top five best-shipped smartphone list.

Samsung was close behind in the second spot with 19 per cent share, driven by its budget Galaxy A04 and Galaxy A05 Series. As the offers on major e-commerce platforms reduced drastically with the end of the festive sale in November, the online share also reduced to less than 40 per cent in November, it said, adding that Xiaomi emerged as the top player on the online channel, too, capturing almost a quarter of the share.

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