We already know the Xiaomi Mi 9 flagship phone will be officially uncovered on February 20. But we also know there will be another amazing handset, coming our way from this manufacturer (though from another brand). The Redmi Note 7 Pro with identical features but with the Sony 48MP CMOS will hit the market in the nearest future, after the launch of the Mi 9. Today, Lu Weibing, the general manager of Redmi brand, issued a statement through his Weibo channel, saying they will launch their own model packed with the Snapdragon 855 chip.
As we all know, the previous Snapdragon 800 series flagship processors are exclusive to the Xiaomi brand and have never been appeared on the Redmi line handsets. Moreover, none of the Redmi series smartphones is packed with a Snapdragon 700 series chip. Today, Redmi is independent, and the first model succeeded, selling over 1 million units in half a month. This handset is powered by a full-blooded version of the Snapdragon 660. So do you imagine what will happen when there is a cheap Redmi phone with a Snapdragon 855?
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A few days ago, Lei Jun said on Weibo that the Xiaomi Mi 9 will be the first phone to come with a Snapdragon 855. Also, Wang Teng, the product director of Xiaomi Company, said within two months, there will be no Chinese manufacturer to bring a Snapdragon 855-powered smartphone to the market. It turns out, only Xiaomi and Xiaomi-related brands (including Redmi and Black Shark) will come in with handsets sporting this chip. Are we talking about a monopolization?
When Pan Jiutang, a former partner of Xiaomi Industry Investment Department was asked about this, he explained that the monopoly is a bit exaggerated. It can only be said that Xiaomi just got ‘the empty window’ of Snapdragon 855 in China.
Each vendor’s product planning and launch are different. In 2019, it’s too difficult to plan the launch of a flagship phone. Some new technologies are very good but not used. They are also expensive. But seems all these impeding circumstances bypass the Xiaomi Mi 9. Pan Jiutang also revealed that in fact, the Xiaomi Mi 9 has been ready to be released way earlier. But it was unfavorable for sales before the Spring Festival (the supply chain/production/logistics/distribution challenge before the Spring Festival was too big). So the company has made a decision to announce it in late February.
