Xiaomi phone threatens a price war

Desk Report: Xiaomi has unveiled a smartphone with high-end features and a budget price, under a new brand.

The Poco F1 features the latest Snapdragon chip, a larger-than-normal 4,000mAh battery and up to eight gigabytes of RAM - matching Samsung's Galaxy Note 9 in those specifications.

But it will cost substantially less than flagship models from rival "affordable" brands when sold in India.

One expert said the launch may force other firms to rethink their prices.

"It's got the best Qualcomm processor you can get right now while in essence costing about half the price of some rivals," said Mike Lowe, reviews editor of the gadget site Pocket-lint, who has tested the device.

"It's very powerful with a massive battery, and the consumers it is targeting are not going to worry too much about the fact it's a bit bulky.

"This is Xiaomi trying to keep the dominance it has of the Indian market, and to appeal to other territories too."

The basic model of the Poco F1 - which has 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage - is 20,999 rupees ($300; £233).

The top-end version, with a synthetic fibre back and more RAM and storage - is 29,999 rupees ($430; £332).

Local press have identified its nearest competition as being the OnePlus 6 and the Asus ZenFone 5Z.

Models of the former are priced between 34,999 and 43,999 rupees while those of the latter range from 29,999 to 36,999 rupees.

Xiaomi's price advantage becomes even wider to members of HDFC bank, who receive a 1,000 rupee discount.

Only Huawei's new Honor Play beats the Poco F1 on price - 19,999 to 23,999 rupees - but its specifications lag behind.

The Poco F1 has only been confirmed for India at this point, where it will be released on 29 August. But its Chinese maker has said it plans to bring the handset to about 50 other countries.

Agencies


risingbd/Dhaka/Aug 23, 2018/Nasim