Another day for the successful journey of Xiaomi, already in eight markets, the company confirms Brazil as the ninth one.
Last year Xiaomi has started to jump in the markets outside China, where they have changed the way the world sees Chinese phone companies. Currently the company operates in India, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. In India, they had launched their products in July of 2014, and soon after managed to sell over a million of devices.
The resounding success in the Indian market is an important step as the company continues its international move. Now Xiaomi have fixed their eyes on another highly competitive and dynamic market, Brazil.
Xiaomi has had an office in Sao Paulo since August, but will soon begin the sales of affordable products.
During the launch of Mi4i in Taiwan, at the press conference, Hugo Barra (Xiaomi International Vice-President, and born in Brazil) told media of their plans to start in the market with a local manufacture which may take place sooner than a similar production plan in India. With this Xiaomi would be able to circumvent high taxes and keep pricing low:
“You cannot be in business in Brazil without manufacturing locally because you cannot import phones… the import tax is too high. The system is designed to force everybody to manufacture locally, so we have to abide by the system.”
With this move, Xiaomi can follow and match big companies, who also have factories on the country, Motorola is a good example which owes much of its current success to record sales of its intermediate devices in the country. Another company who has a big factory there is the Xiaomi’s partner Foxconn.
A time ago, Xiaomi has stated Brazil as one of their key market, for international expansion. Other countries on the list are Turkey, Russia, and Mexico. Xiaomi also has started to make their presence noted on USA, but patent restrictions are keeping the company from selling phones in the United States and European markets for now.
The company’s success in such a hard market as Brazil, where large companies have given up before (HTC is a good example) rests upon their only hands. As a Brazilian I can say that everything that consumers here are seeking are quality products with prices that are not abusive, something that Xiaomi has practiced in other countries, if the company keep this tactic here, and everything indicates they will, the company has everything to make a resounding success.
[Source]
w8ing…
Congrats Brazil.
I’m curious exactly how much high that taxes there?
Turkish fans here already gave up their hopes for 2015.
They were wrong thinking Xiaomi going in Turkey this year.
Before them in the list there’s Brazil Russia for sure, I would think Mexico comes before Turkey as well.
You know Xiaomi declared their expansion plans more than a whole year before and several countries including Turkey was there for 2014. Til end of the 2014 fans was hopeful.
After that Hugo Barra explained their new expansion strategy. But he did just give a schedule for Brazil to H1 2015. So they are hoped for H2 2015. But that hope is dead now.
There are some jokes about 2017.
My guess was they would going to Russia after Brazil by end of the year at best. After that I can’t predict.
I know they declared their expansion plan last year, listing few countries like Brazil, Turkey,Russia, and Mexico (not in that order).
They also didn’t provide any timeline except for Brazil.
Russia will most likely come after Brazil (here again, no deadline provided) as we both guessed since it’s a bigger market.
Turkish fans have to be patient and they will rewarded.
Xiaomi did a mistake naming that countries. They created expectation, but couldn’t fulfill that.
Again, they haven’t said when that was going to happen and again, they made it clear that it was not going to be anytime soon
I’m not sure we are talking about same thing. They said they are going the enter 10 new countries in 2014. Then changed it at end of the 2014.
So if you are saying they never said their goal enter that countries in 2014, you are wrong.
Xioami never gave a definitive date of when they would enter those markets. Included on the list of 10 were: India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, Russia, Turkey, Vietnam and the Philippines.
As of today they are officially in India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines. They announced this weekend they will enter Thailand and Brazil. That is more than half of then 10 already announced or official.
If year 2014 doesn’t count as a definite date, they didn’t.
“Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said that Xiaomi will enter 10 more foreign markets in 2014”
http://en.miui.com/thread-19712-1-1.html
Then I still don’t understand why Turkish fans have to be upset since the whole process is taking longer than expected. We both agreed that after Brazil comes Russia without any data to handle, just common sense.
I would agree with Turkish fans if Xiaomi already hit those markets but Turkey.
You wouldn’t be disappointed if your country mentioned in their 2014 expansion list, trusting that expecting it through until end of the year, delayed your purchase for months, because you believed Xiaomi is on the way, then told their strategy is changed, from there they will take their sweet time market to market, then you realized probability of their launch in 2015 little to none?
Anyway upsetting period is over. There was a time fans were asking each other when they are coming. Now nobody expecting that’s to happen in 2015.
Just tell them that Xiaomi makes overpriced phones as you always do so they won’t be waiting and get a cheaper phone (which one?)
That’s not an answer. Also is a cheap trick.
I’ve been asked you many times which phones are better values and you always answered talking about SoCs.
If they said 2014 and didn’t happen then people can be disappointed and I would be as well.
But this has to be reflected to everyone and not just Turkish fans like you mentioned in the first comment.
I was happy hearing about Xiaomi opining a store here in the US. It didn’t happen yet, I’ll be waiting patiently. Meanwhile I get things through resellers like everyone does.
Other companies don’t sell abroad anyway, and if they do then they overcharge for their items (look at Meizu).
As you always do,you have not missed a chance to talk shit about Xiaomi.
Still trying to figure out which company you’re used to deal with since you have such high expectations.
You are the one talking shit about ME by twisting my words if not flat out lying. You are personally attacking to me second time instead of argued over the topic. That’s called ad hominem.
There is not an if, they said that as a matter of FACT and it can be easily provable which I just DID with providing link.
You are making a simple fact to a complicated matter by pulling it whole another topic. NOW as you just ADMITTED there is a reason for dissappointed. If you wouldn’t be insisted there is no reason to be disappointed there conversation would be over.
I argued Mi4 should have discounted. Xiaomi discounted Mi4.
I argued Redmi 2 isn’t good enough update after Redmi 1s. Xiaomi released enhanced Redmi 2.
I said Note Pro is overpriced, it discounted even BEFORE it’s launch.
I said Note has previous year’s flagship specs. It’s real.
I said Redmi Note too old against competitors. It really is. Most of people looking for a cheap phablet, not considers Redmi Note anymore.
I said Mi4i is a nice phone. Just better fit Redmi line considering previous Mi phones and Redmi phones. And against comparable phones like M1 Note it’s overpriced.
I liked their Leadcore acquirement.
I NEVER said Xiaomi making expensive phones.
Obviously I’m still waiting for Xiaomi, so it have to be a reason for that. If you ask that kindly, I can explain the reasons.
IMO being a fan doesn’t require blind loyalty.
Do you know after hitting 3rd rank global smartphone shipments at Q3 2014, they are outpaced by Lenovo, Huawei and LG? Even at the Q1 2015 when they released two new phones namely Redmi 2 and Mi Note. According to some sources they lost even their 1st place in China to Huawei and Lenovo. Another source claims it still leader though.
We have argued about these on another topics more than enough.
Well done, you have succesfully managed to pull it another topic.
Hi mate, I would like to buy the MI4 in black. Actually there is only
one version of it with 2GB RAM (FDD LTE). It is weird but it is sold at
a price higher than the original 3GB RAM version (around $10+ at
Ibuygou). I am wondering if the 1GB difference will affect the
performance of the phone considering the fact that MIUI is consuming too
much RAM. I have heard that the black version have paint peeling
issues. Don’t know if it is true or false. I really don’t know which
version to choose. I really prefer the black version!
Maybe I should go for the MI4i.
I heard Redmi 1s users complains about memory management issues, but it has only 1GB RAM.
More RAM is always better IMO, but 2GB should haven’t a problem.
About black Mi4, I don’t know whether or not it’s a common problem. You can check out the link below.
http://www.gizmochina.com/2014/11/25/xiaomi-mi4-black-edition-hands-on/
Also they released another black Mi4 with silver color metal frame. It could be a limited edition. Anyway black ones are seems rare.
https://www.gizchina.com/2014/12/04/xiaomi-build-silver-wings-mi4/
Thank you both for your replies. Well the MI4 black front and silver color metal is only for China. There are no FDD or WCDMA versions of it. I really don’t understand why resellers sell the 2gb ram version of the MI4 at a price higher than the original 3gb ram model. I mean they want to make money on people who desperately want the black version. Don’t know what resellers smoke. I will wait for the MI4i price and then decide. Peace.
Where did you see the 2GB version for more money? Here are the prices on Honorbuy:
Honorbuy:
2GB Black/White – $309
3GB White – $319
3GB Black – $339
Hi, well it is on Ibuygou website. They sell the MI4 2GB RAM version at $309.99. The MI4 3GB RAM versions (WCDMA and FDD LTE) are sold at $299.99. I really don’t know what to buy, the MI4i might be a cheaper option and enough for a normal user like me. That being said, if it is sold around $260 after reseller’s margin profit then it it might be better to buy the MI4 2GB or 3GB. I really like the black version of the MI4 but I have read on the internet that the black paint is peeling on the metal frame.
Redmi 2 Pro is another choice but its CPU is a downside.
Thanks for your help.
If you are just a normal user the Redmi 2 Pro is more than capable. If you play a lot of games your best bet is the regular Mi4.
Thanks, do you believe if Xiaomi will release the MI4S next month?
Personally I don’t, I just can’t see where a Mi4s would fit into the market. Judging by the specs listed in that roadmap it would be a flagship device. If they are going to make a new flagship I can’t see it being another variant of the Mi4. Xiaomi usually discounts an older model right before they announce it’s replacement. That’s why I think the next phone announced will be the Mi5. That is just my opinion though you never know with Xiaomi.
Thank you for your reply, if Xiaomi plan to release a replacement for the MI4 its price will be high because of hardware upgrades (better CPU, faster RAM). IMO the MI4 is still a very powerful device and one of the best 5inch phone in the market.
Ever new Mi numbered device (not the Note series) has released for 1999 yuan (roughly $323). They have never strayed from that price for the Mi line (again Note is a different series) so I would expect the Mi5 to be the same or very close to it.
I use the Mi4 everyday and I love it, it is one of my favorite phones I have ever used. I really don’t have a single complaint with it anymore. My original complaint was I wasn’t a fan of the boring white back cover but I bought a bunch of back covers (including an awesome wood one) and now I love the looks.
True but after resellers margin profit the MI5 will be around $380+ for the 16gb version. Add shipping costs then the price will reach $400+. I just hope that the price of the MI4 will fall to $280. I really like the black version of the MI4 which is very classy comparing the white one.
Since I saw that video below I am really hesitating.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tILy4WM85gs
Yes on the reseller market it will be over $400 that always happens regardless of brand. Which is why I am excited Xiaomi has officially entered Thailand!
As for the black version it usually isn’t released for months after the white. None of us really know why Xiaomi does that.
Wooow I have just realized that Ibuygou is selling the MI3 64GB version at $246 without shipping costs. I prefer the MI4 design which is compact comparing the MI3 but the price is also an argument to consider.
The Mi3 was a very good phone as well. If you can get by the design of which I am not a huge fan of, it is good. Merimobiles sells it for $246 with free shipping.
http://www.merimobiles.com/xiaomi-mi-3-64gb-quad-core-2-3ghz-miui-v5-os-5inch-1920-1080-wcdma-smartphone_p/meri9614.htm
Thanks but I will go for the MI4. Have a great day!
2 GB or RAM is enough for MIUI, 3GB is better. If your not a power user 1 GB can be enough, I use it on a 1GB tablet (Nexus 7) and don;t have any major issues, but I also only use it for the basics such as watching movies.
The one twisting words has been you since you made it sound like Xiaomi wasnt caring of Turkish fans while the truth is that the whole process has been delayed and there’s nothing against Turkey.
You never used the word expensive, you always used the word overpriced which,according to any english dictionary,implies a second party of comparison and that’s why i always asked you which phones are more valuable than Xiaomi ones.
You said that Note Pro was(again) overpriced back in time when the badly selling SD810 wasnt out yet and a cheaper LeTV wasnt out yet (for those 2 reasons Xiaomi dropped the price of Note PRO).
I’ve tried to explain you also that if another company drops the price it doesnt mean that Xiaomi has to do it too, There are way too many reasons why a company drop prices which could be new phone coming out ( and Balcobomber25 told you several times that the MI4 would drop few months before the MI5 coming out ), getting rid of old stock or bad selling.
One time you came out with abdurd prices and i asked you kindly which other phones you can get out there for those prices (never gotten an answer )
I agreed with you with IUNI U3 being a better deal and LeTV might be a better deal than Note PRO but still, if they keep seeling well, then they dont have to drop anything and that’s is for any company out there, not just Xiaomi, this is called business.
Talking about Xiaomi losing the 3rd spot, google it, you’ll find out that it happened when Lenovo bought motorola.
Speaking about 1st place in china….well, not being a public company we dont know what’s behind it…you say some source says they lost it, some not.
We are really speaking about thin air here and i really dont debate out it.
You never will get an answer to most of your questions. It’s kind of funny though when you call him out for some of the stuff he says, he says its a “personal attack”.
Both of you will always gets your answers. More than that you are ignoring facts shamelessly.
About personel attack case, at first he called me as a kid. Than now he claims me talked about shits.
To him shit should have mean TRUTH.
Calling you a “kid” is hardly a personal attack. If you can’t handle someone calling you something as innocent as “kid” you shouldn’t be on the internet.
We don’t ignore facts, we ignore your opinions that you pass off as facts. When we refute those opinions with actual facts, you ignore them (such as the fact that Xiaomi hasn’t raised prices on like models).
Namecalling is a personel attack. That’s simple. I can do that too, and things gets out of control.
You are undeniably ignoring facts.
Just for example of that happened here in that topic. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun clearly listed 10 countries for entering in 2014. That’s a FACT. Not an if. Not my OPINION.
Another example of that, when I said Mi4’s price discounted, you claimed Mi4’s price will be reduced WHEN Mi5 announced. As a matter of fact it was ACTUALLY discounted at the time, but you get it as a my OPINION and objected.
I said that Mi3 and Mi2s’ prices reduced before their successor’s announcement as a FACT, but you get it as my OPINION. Even after that I provide you official link for proving it, you were still in denial.
I can go on and go on.
Kid is far from name calling, where we come from calling someone kid is the same as calling them mate. If he called you a moron that would be name calling.
Your problem is you take everything that is said and think it is guaranteed. What I said was usually Xiaomi will discount the current model right before they release the new one. And actually if you want to get technical they discounted the Mi4 and mere weeks later announced their newest flagship would be available, the Note Pro. I never said it was guaranteed to happen.
With Lei Jun he never said “we guarantee to be in these 10 countries by the end of 2014” he said we would like to expand to them. Anyone who works in the business world knows things can change in a matter of a week let alone 8 months. He never once gave definitive dates of when they would enter each country.
I could go on but after awhile it gets tiresome arguing with you kid. Have a good day kid!
LOL you are a pathological liar. Plain and simple.
When I said “finally they dropped Mi4’s price to 1799 yuan also released 2GB version with 1699 yuan price tag.” You said exactly that “they will drop the price when the Mi5 is announced.”
I can’t help it’s really hilarious. You have no shame.
Worse now you are trying to make an excuse with Note Pro and making yourself more pathetic.
Lei Jun said they will enter that 10 countries in 2014. That’s a time frame for all of that countries. Period. Who needs the word “guarantee”?
You do know what an opinion is right? That was my opinion of when Xiaomi would drop the price. I never said I guarantee they will drop the price when the Mi5 is announced. If you take my opinion as a fact that is on you.
As for the word guarantee without that or anything definitive (as in an exact month or date) it doesn’t mean anything in the business world. Every company announces plans to enter new markets every year. But anyone who deals with the real life business world knows that varying factors can affect that growth.
Yeah, that was your opinion about when Mi5’s price will be dropped.
But, what I was telling was not my OPINION, I was telling at the time event of Mi4’s actual price cut. That was the HAPPENED fact, you don’t get it. Do you get it now?
About what Lei Jun said, if it was a leak coming from internal meeting wouldn’t be a mistake. When it announced publicly and failed, it become a mistake.
If Lei Jun never mentioned a time frame, again wouldn’t be a mistake, but unfortunately he did.
You are talking about again IRRELEVANT facts. Yes, every company could have failed meeting their goals. So what?
I have no clue what your talking about with time event and price cuts.
Show Lei Jun’s actual quote, not news sources saying “xaiomi plans to enter these markets”.
Look at that slide behind Lei Jun’s.
http://img1.mydrivers.com/img/20140423/s_1c44f4795fa6431ea9b54d2692ab50bb.jpg
I have added the link below, so you can use Google translate.
http://news.mydrivers.com/1/301/301843.htm
Again post his exact statement of what he said in Chinese or English. Not slide shows, not media clippings. The exact words that LeI Jun said.
You are really pathetic. What he could say about that?
I am pathetic because you can’t come up with anything? If he was speaking at a press conference he obviously said something.
雷军透露，小米在2014年计划登录十个国家，亚洲有马来西亚、菲律宾、印度、印尼、泰国和越南，欧洲有俄罗斯、土耳其，美洲有巴西、墨西哥。(伊凡)
So by the translation of this it says “Lei Jun plans to enter those countries”. (it’s still not a direct quote but that’s all I was looking for). It doesn’t say “we will enter these countries”. See the difference now?
LOL you were looking for that?
When he announced that plans publicly he created an expectation at least in here. This is the whole point of that.
Their plans is failed. If they wouldn’t announced that plans public there wouldn’t be a disappointment.
You may be disappointed but like I have told you countless times I live in one of those countries and I am part of a very active MI community. The level of disappointment here was minor if any.
Look, I don’t know where are you from, but I can’t say fans there what were thinking about that. I just accept what you are saying.
Accept that what I’m saying about Turkish fans’ position.
We are living in two different country, consequently our situation could be very different.
Getting ANY phone outside from country is major pain in the ass here for most people.
Internet purchases outside country is banned completely for phones here. You can’t get it through customs by paying import duties. So you have to buy it via hand to hand from re-resellers. And they demands ridiculous prices. When you get it, you have to register it to your passport. If you haven’t that and if you have a friend who has a passport, you can try to convince him to register it his own passport. Also you can register only 1 phone to a passport in 2 years. That way you can claim that you bought it on travel. If you can’t find any passport to do that you can try to alter device’s IMEI. To do that you have to one legit IMEI preferably one of your own old device. If it caught, it’s registeration terminated. Most of the cases it’s not possible with Qualcomm devices.
When or if it’s broken, you can’t find any service to repair. You can’t shipped it back because at first place most probably you wouldn’t bought it from a store. Even if somehow you managed to shipped it back for repair, when it returns it will stuck at customs and shipped back again, if you have altered device’s IMEI.
I can respect your viewpoint and we can agree that we don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things. I am sorry if you felt offended by anything that was said. How about me move on and forget all this hostility now?
That will be best. I’m sorry for my harsh words too.
I’m really giving up on him.
He could have simply said that this whole process of making fans disappointed due to delay, but of course, he chose to make it sounds like Xiaomi is treating Turkish fans differently.
Now he’s speaking of facts while in the past he always said that Xiaomi is raising its prices and you always showed him that facts proved it differently.
I really have no wish to look back on one his post where he said that Note pro should cost 2100CNY,MI4 1500CNY etc… And I gently asked him how he did come out with those prices or at least to show other phones that costs the same.
No answer.
Since he likes Latin quotes I’d say
“Verba volant scripta manent”
Now he’s being a “drama quenn” because he doesn’t understand the difference between colloquial expressions and call somebody names.
Lol, I decided it was easier to just bury the hatchet with him then keep up the arguing.
Again you are twisting my words insistenly. I expressed Turkish fans’ dissappointment. You have maked it a big deal.
You tried to argue against a FACT. What was wrong with you?
They listed 10 countries to enter in 2014. They didn’t manage to do that. Consequently -at least- here that caused dissappointment. How can I comment fans of other countries’ behalf.
They maked a business decision. That’s completely irrelevant with emotions. Hugo Barra himself explained about their new strategy. He said not hopping market to market quickly is a smart thing to do.
They didn’t make that change with caring or not caring. They didn’t choose Turkey (and other countries) with care about them over other countries.
I never used the word expensive, because they are not expensive. When I used the word overpriced, ALWAYS offered a reason or a comparison whether or not you like it or agree with me.
Your so called explanations completely irrelevant again. I have NEVER said they have to drop their prices for THEIR best interest. Quite contrary I said again and again repeatedly as a company they would like better profit margins if they could get away with that.
I said repeatedly -which seems like you never get it- I’m not interested any company’s best interest. As a customer, I’m ONLY interested MY best interest.
Talking about 3rd place, I didn’t need to Google it, because I’m well aware of the facts, obviously you don’t and you need Googling it for that.
At the Q3 2014 acquisition of Motorola isn’t over yet. Xiaomi’s pace was incredible and with that pace they were going to outpace Motorola-Lenovo together.
Also you are just ignored again a FACT, I said they outpaced also by LG and Huawei.
Again I live in one of the countries that was supposed to be supported in 2014. I am part of a very active Mi community here, the level of disappointment you speak of was non existent. There was more excitement for the Mi Note/Pro (announced at the end of the year) than there was disappointment for the lack of official support. No one I know delayed any purchases based off a line of “we expect to be in your country”.
And again since that announcement they have entered or announced to enter 6 countries officially.
Mentioning the year is not a definitive date. A definitive date would be something like “we will enter Brazil in September of this year” it gives an actual time frame and that would create expectation. Saying we will enter your market in 2014 creates little to know expectations without an actual date. I live in one of the countries he mentioned and there was little to no expectations here even from die hard fans like myself (which there are plenty here).
That gave a time frame is about 8 months. Once 2014 is over, they missed that.
They have posted in Linkedin a job position for Country manager in Russian
The taxes here are of 60% of product value being added to final price. There are other minor taxes added, and in some states the value may float.
That’s bad. Our taxes here close to that though. Actually if phone is cheaper than certain price, it’s worse.
Looks like Hugo Barra is suffering of “saudade”.
Yeah I think that too, Brazil in the last years is breaking records in the consume of smart devices, but is not one of the first priorities for growing companies.
I obviously made a joke since its known that Brazilians living abroad suffer of what they call “saudade” which is missing their country.
Now, speaking of Brazil, it’s one of the most populated country in the world, right after India, China and USA.
Being a non Asian country is the first as growth, still single digit GDP but pretty much there.
Another factor is the economical policy.
If you want to invest in Brazil in a technological field, you can go there, show your plan, get special taxation and they also provide you residence or even citizenship. Brazilian readers can confirm what I just said.
Edit: sorry Marco,Ive just figure out you are Brazilian.
I’m Brazilian too. I’m just stating something that has happened in recent years, And we are going through an economic crisis these days. Anyway the arrival of Xiaomi would change the game here in the country, where large companies (read Samsung and Apple) charge as much as they want, by putting the excuses in the rates.
The problem isn’t so much Samsung and Apple charging as much as they want, the problem is Brazil’s crazy high import fees and taxes. It’s going to be interesting to see how Xiaomi get’s around that. Unless you want to pay $400 US for a Redmi 2.
The country has high and crazy fees and taxes, but some companies use that like a excuse to add “more”. Galaxy S6 Edge costs about 1400USD, and Apple iPhone 6 1500, all the two have factories here (Samsung and Foxconn), great part is due the crazy taxes here I’m don’t have any reason to defend it, but some companies use that to add in their profit.
With a 60% tax 1400 USD isn’t that far off for the S6 Edge. Most countries I have been too recently the S6 Edge is selling for between $850-1000.
But when you produce the phone here it excludes the import fees, thats why Xiaomi choose this way.
Hi mate, I would like to buy the MI4 in black. Actually there is only one version of it with 2GB RAM (FDD LTE). It is weird but it is sold at a price higher than the original 3GB RAM version (around $10+ at Ibuygou). I am wondering if the 1GB difference will affect the performance of the phone considering the fact that MIUI is consuming too much RAM. I have heard that the black version have paint peeling issues. Don’t know if it true or false. I really don’t know which version to choose.
Maybe I should wait for the MI4i.
I am Brazilian and I hope anxious for the arrival of this company