Xiaomi unveiled its flagship Mi 10 series in China yesterday. The lineup consists of a standard and Pro variant. Both the devices offer top-of-the-line specifications and are available starting from RMB 3,999 (~Rs 41,000). Soon after the launch event, Xiaomi India MD Manu Kumar Jain took to Twitter to tease the Mi 10 series in India. He mentioned that the Mi 10 requires state of the art facilities to manufacture, which are currently not available in India. Therefore, Xiaomi would have to import the entire stock of Mi 10 units in order to launch the device in India, thereby increasing the cost. This also hints that the Mi 10 series if launched in India will be priced higher than in China. Jain hasn’t revealed any launch time frame yet.
However, making such a device requires state of the art facilities, which are not available in India.
We will have to import 100% of units if we launch the #Mi10 in India. Hence, it will have a different pricing model than usual.
RT? with #Mi10 if you want to see it in India. https://t.co/FbRGe4tvjL
— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) February 13, 2020
Last month, Xiaomi shared its plans of launching premium smartphones under the Mi series in India this year. The smartphone maker is now looking to focus on the premium market segment. Xiaomi’s sub-brand Redmi caters to the mid-range and upper-midrange price bracket. Xiaomi India’s official Twitter account has been teasing ‘#108MP is coming’ in its username. However, the Mi Note 10 was the first phone under Mi series with a 108MP camera and it never made its way to the country. The latest Mi 10 and 10 Pro are also equipped with 108MP camera sensors. It remains to be seen which of these devices Xiaomi brings to India first.
A report by XDA Developers states that Xiaomi has started developing MIUI 11 builds for the Mi 10 codenamed as ‘umi’ and ‘cmi’. They are being developed for India and other regions. This hints at the smartphone’s launch in the country. However, this is just a speculation and we will have to wait for the official confirmation from Xiaomi.
In other news, Xiaomi has postponed its Mi 10 global launch to a later date since MWC 2020 was officially cancelled over coronavirus fears. The brand is expected to announce a new global launch date soon.