{Disarmed} We asked POCO why their phones are costing a LITTLE more and this is their answer
Within the framework of the Mobile World Congress 2022 we have had the opportunity to speak with Fabio Arena, Product Manager of Xiaomi Spain.
We spoke with him about some of the novelties presented at the fair, the direction of the brand and new products that could land very soon in Spain.
Questions about the POCO sub-brand
Xiaomi owes a lot to POCO, will this economic independence cause a formal split or will it continue to operate under the Xiaomi Group umbrella?
We have a lot to thank POCO for, because as you say, it is aimed at a very specific audience. It is a sub-brand dedicated to the 100% digital environment where it seeks to attract those who want the best in specifications and price, because there is nothing like it on the market.
Today it is still under the umbrella, but we will see how little by little it will stand out, being even more independent. In fact, we already have a team dedicated exclusively to POCO.
Including the R&D department?
To this day it is not yet, but indeed the intention is for it to happen.
Will the new Redmi be LITTLE, taking into account the entire ecosystem that is being assembled around said sub-brand such as routers, smartbands, Smart TVs...?
In the ecosystem strategy, which is a fundamental pillar for us because we are the quintessential ecosystem brand, there are intentions for POCO to go beyond smartphones and be known by other branches of devices such as smartbands, among various devices, to throughout this same year.
As for whether POCO is going to be the new Redmi, I want to be emphatic in this regard, NO. In the end, POCO is a store that is digitally oriented, it is true that on occasion there has been the exception of some POCO in some retailer , but not as a rule.
POCO is aimed at the 100% online market and towards the user who knows what they are looking for, and who already knows what POCO is. Redmi is a word of mouth brand that you can recommend to your uncle and he can go to the store to buy it. They are different consumer profiles.
POCO is not only aimed at the techie public, but it is true that it is aimed at those who understand technology, who are looking for a powerful processor, a screen and a groundbreaking price.
In social networks, after the launch of the POCO M4 Pro and X4 Pro 5G, some users say that it is no longer as bargain as it was in the first launches, what has changed so that the starting price is a LITTLE higher each time?
Criticism is going to be there no matter what you do. At Xiaomi we have been incorporating products of all kinds for many years under the motto "Honest Pricing", which has always been Xiaomi's philosophy, but it is true that it has been drifting towards POCO. Xiaomi now incorporates other ranges such as the Redmi and Redmi Note that continue to have very powerful features for any consumer and with very affordable prices.
AMOLED screen, Qualcomm processor... I am not at all in agreement that POCO has abandoned quality - price, the prices they have, from my point of view, as Product Manager , are totally groundbreaking.
We believe that they will be very well received because they are price points where it is what moves the most in the market. Below 300 euros is 70% of the mobile quota in Spain, and that is where POCO comes into play.
We know that there are people looking for Redmi, and others POCO. In the end, whether in store or online, everything stays at home. Not everyone knows LITTLE and that's where we are, trying to expand its portfolio to make it a LITTLE more known.
The POCO X4 Pro 5G is less powerful than its previous generation at a somewhat higher price. Is POCO ceasing to be a company focused on value for money?
There is a very simple comparison to make and it is a POCO M4 Pro (4G) that comes with very striking features such as an AMOLED screen with a refresh rate, a 5,000 mAh battery, 64 megapixels...
If we compare it with the POCO X3 Pro, it did not come with an AMOLED screen, it came with 48 instead of 64 megapixels and its starting price was almost 300 euros in its 8 + 256 version.
This equipment in the 8 + 256 version is cheaper than the previous generation and with more megapixels, which is more attractive to the consumer, AMOLED screen, which is one of the features that the consumer looks at the most and something that the user looks at the least, According to our studies, the processor is an element that has stopped taking on as much importance as it did five years ago.
The priority that the features of our phones have in this price segment are in this order:
- ROM/RAM
- Battery
- Camera
- Screen
The processor comes next. If we speak in the segment of 800 euros, the order is different and the design, the camera and other elements have a different order.
We do a study to find out which processor is the one that best fits, taking into account the order of the elements. For more than 90% of the population, a chip is more than enough and since we have a partnership with Mediatek, we are aware of offering a performance ample.
If we compare it with the POCO X3 Pro, despite not being a Qualcomm processor, in other features it has been improved and on top of that with a price that has dropped in the higher version compared to the X3 Pro.
Xiaomi at the Mobile World Congress
Since we are at the Xiaomi booth at the Mobile World Congress, we are going to talk about it. We see that we have the Cyberdog or CyberDog, what does Xiaomi want to achieve with such a different product?
We are well known for smartphones, in three years we are leaders in the Spanish market and no one has achieved that. You are aware that Xiaomi is worthy of study, because it is an unusual phenomenon.
As for the ecosystem, if we can't get the consumer hooked on a smartphone, because hey, he prefers other brands, we all have preferences, we're going to try to hook him on a security camera, a Scooter, a Band, a robot vacuum cleaner...
Now, what we wanted to show at the MWC was the capacity for innovation that we have as a brand, beyond products such as TVs, which are already well known. Both the CyberDog and the transparent TV are some examples.
People wonder what Xiaomi wants to do with this? Today it is a prototype, it is the first version and there are already new generations that are being developed with a sense of smell that is even capable of differentiating the body odor of people to carry out tracking that is already in the testing phase.
A guardian CyberDog is also being tested, ideal for industrial buildings in which it can transmit the image thanks to its ten high-resolution cameras and a system of up to six microphones to detect movement and noise.
In fact, it is capable of sending information in streaming through a switchboard. Work is also being done on recharging itself autonomously as if it were a robot vacuum cleaner. Beyond this, it is also being tested on people with hearing or visual limitations. Currently, it is a product in an embryonic phase, but it can be very useful in the future.
Here it is shown as a pet, that gives the paw, that does funny things, but the reality is that it is only marketed in China focused on developers, who are those that little by little are offering us some features such as, for example, the theme of smell
Before we talked about the mobile not having to be the start of the consumer in Xiaomi, now with MIUI 13 a first step is being taken in creating an ecosystem in which devices communicate with each other in the Android world. Is Xiaomi going to continue working on integration between devices?
It is true that MIUI 13 is an important step in the software part, since hardware is always talked about, but it is a leap in design, functionality and performance. We are working on the ecosystem part to have all devices connected, both with MIUI and with all the possibilities offered by the Mi Home app .
We are aware that the average product per consumer is increasing, you can have an iPhone, but also a Scooter, where we are leaders at a global level, and we have also managed to expand the ecosystem through the Xiaomi security camera, with a very attractive price , there are also other products such as smart plugs or light bulbs that are part of the strategy and where software is also given great importance.
We have seen the transparent television that you have on display at the stand, but will it reach Spain?
No, not at the moment. At the moment it is only marketed in China and despite the fact that it corresponds to a very striking product, it is focused on innovation and design with the luxury of having a TV that nobody else has. Its price is approximately 6,000 euros at the exchange rate in China.
It is a high price and it also affects when it comes to mass production, because there is not a lot of OLED panels which makes it so thin.
Not for this model, but for other references on television, in Spain we are increasingly known for televisions. In fact, it is also worthy of study because we are in the main retailers and the reception we have as a brand is something unique.
Something similar happened to us with the Xiaomi Pad 5 , we achieved a market share of more than 30% in that segment in its first week of launch. The consultants told us that no one had released a tablet for 400 euros, with a risky price point of only 8%.
Has the 30% market share been maintained?
30% was the peak of the segment, but even so we have achieved very good figures.
With how well the Xiaomi Pad 5 has worked, are you considering bringing the Pro model to Europe?
Myself, when I was going to present the product to the different partners, they made us suspicious because they said that the starting price of the tablet was very high. In the end we had to see the data together so that they did not make us distrust ourselves.
The Pad 5 has been the first step, and new generations of tablets will come, both higher and lower, referring to the high range and the entry range. Completing the product portfolio.
It has always been blamed that an Android tablet was a mobile with a large screen and well, with the Pad 5, an effort has been made in the software to show that this is not the case.
Trends in the smartphone world
Let's talk about trends, we are at the Mobile World Congress 2022, the first major face-to-face event in a long time... And we are seeing that the mobile is not being the main protagonist of the fair for most manufacturers, we have seen laptops, tablets. .. How do you see it from Xiaomi?
The smartphone market is going to grow in 2022, according to our estimates. It may be that it has not been the main protagonist, that is how you have perceived it, but this goes further, we have the CyberDog, a transparent television and even electric cars in front of us (pointing to the stand in front), which within not many of us will have ours as you already know.
There are other striking technologies that go beyond the smartphone and that is why it does not impact it as much as a revolution that captures all eyes. We have focused more on innovative products like these.
hardware strategy
Last round of questions. We have seen that many manufacturers continue to race in fast charging, Xiaomi has always led this, where is the limit of fast charging? We have also seen that special emphasis is placed on security, in fact, Xiaomi has already been on this message for a long time.
Indeed, it is a race to see who loads faster. Right now we are leaders at the marketing level, I mean, with Hypercharge in the Xiaomi 11T Pro at 120 W.
It is true that a few months ago we presented that we were working with a fast charge at 200 W by cable , and similar figures wirelessly, but of course, it is technology in which it continues to be developed.
When you get used to such extremely fast fast charging, you realize that it is one of the best advances in that aspect. We are not worried about security, because there is already a lot of awareness with that.
We have an agreement with TÜV Rehinland with charging points and necessary tests so that there is no overheating for the charger, because it is not only important that the device does not heat up so that no element deteriorates. Directly, we do not place so much emphasis on the issue of security because work is already being done on this aspect.
Also on a technical level, it would be relevant to emphasize that fast charging is there not to be used at all times, but on certain occasions when you have little time. If you always use fast charging, you stress the battery more.
When we introduced fast charging at 120 W, we guaranteed a minimum of 800 charging cycles, which is equivalent to more than two years charging the device in normal situations. We are aware that the average use of an Android smartphone is not much above these figures.
It is not that we want them to renew their mobile because it was damaged in the 833 cycle, but hey, we are calm because of the smartphone renewal cycle. In fact, you can now select whether or not you want to use fast charging at night.
Are you considering outsourcing Xiaomi's production to other countries as has been done in Argentina?
At the moment, no. They asked me before how the semiconductor crisis had affected us, and we are lucky enough to be in Spain. For Xiaomi Spain is the most important country outside of China. Although the entire industry has suffered greatly in all sectors, we are lucky that we have been given priority.
One of our partners thanked us yesterday for how you have weathered the situation.
Will we see a proprietary SoC processor soon?
Well, you know we are working. The Surge P1 that is integrated into the Mix Fold is a step forward. The Mix and the T-series always incorporate the latest in innovation so that as soon as possible it can be mass-produced.
You mentioned the Fold series... will this series come to Spain?
Pasapalabra... No, (laughs), it may come at some point and not because it is not mature, but because it is still an expensive technology today due to production levels. We at Xiaomi are selling more and more high-end products, but we are going step by step to differentiate between the consumer that a Redmi is entry-level, a Redmi Note is mid-range, and a Xiaomi is high-end.
We know at the moment in which we find ourselves and we want to go step by step. Probably at some point the Fold saga can be incorporated.
Is there another type of folding beyond the Fold? Maybe a Mix Flip?
There are several formats. Each of the manufacturers bets on one and we have opted for the Mix Fold. Although we continue to work on different technologies.
Does Xiaomi have in mind to offer its streaming services such as Xiaomi Cloud, Xiaomi Music in other markets beyond China?
Yes, there are intentions. We have a large installed base of users, which is very important to add value to both the user and the company. We do not want to sell only gadgets but also services that contribute to the user.
From xiaomist we thank Fabio Arena for the interview.
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The news We have asked POCO why their phones cost a LITTLE more and this is their answer was originally published in xiaomist by Alejandro Fernández .
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