Xiaomi fires shots at Apple as it launches smartphone

Xiaomi launched its Mi5 smartphone on
Wednesday, using its first ever European launch
event to take on Samsung and Apple handsets and
build up its brand beyond its current markets.
The Chinese mobile company took the wraps off the
5.15 inch Mi5 smartphone which will cost 2,699
yuan ($354) for the top-end 120 gigabyte version
and 1,999 yuan for the 32 GB handset.
Xiaomi's Mi5 will be available from March 1 in
China and will roll out to the company's other
markets such as India.
A few of the key features include:
A 16 megapixel back camera and 4 megapixel
selfie camera
A fingerprint sensor
A curved back
White and gold models available.
The smartphone maker, which is valued at around
$45 billion, has seen huge growth due to its tactic
of selling low-price, high-spec smartphones and
using a mix of social media and selling direct to
the consumer to build its brand.
But as the smartphone market slows, particularly
in China, Xiaomi is looking beyond its current
markets and to the West where there is a big
demand for its devices.
Xiaomi has previously signaled its intent to break
into the U.S. and European market but has always
declined to give a specific timeframe.
"We primarily focus on existing markets…we're
beginning to work our way into other markets,"
Barra told CNBC in a TV interview on Wednesday.
Analysts said that Xiaomi would be looking for
growth elsewhere amid slower growth in China.
"It's little surprise Xiaomi has gone for a big
European launch. As the Chinese smartphone
market plateaus, it is essential Xiaomi (and other
Chinese phone makers) drive growth in
international markets," Ben Wood, chief of research
at CCS Insight, told CNBC by email.
"The big questions for Xiaomi are whether it has
overcome the intellectual property challenges it has
faced to date and how it builds its brand to
Western consumers who will never have heard of
the brand?"
Hugo Barra, international vice-president, addressed
the patent issue at MWC, saying that the company
filed 3,600 patents last year globally. Barra told
CNBC in December that Xiaomi had filed over
6,000 patents with 40 percent of them in 2015
being filed outside of China.
The Chinese upstart currently holds a 4.6 percent
smartphone market share, according to IDC, and is
hoping to increase that this year with the Mi5.
During the event, Barra constantly compared the
Mi5 to rivals Apple and Samsung, a feature that is
often seen in Xiaomi's launches as it looks to
position its brand alongside the world's biggest
smartphone makers.Most of Xiaomi's success in
China has been built on the ability to get users to
spend money on its software and services. There are
some doubts about whether Xiaomi can replicate
this model abroad when it expands into western
markets where Google and Apple's services
dominate.
But Barra said that the sales model would be
transferable globally and Xiaomi was already
starting to make moves in this space.
"We'll bring this to other markets…so lot of
exciting evolution ahead which will allow us to
bring our internet content outside of China," Barra
told CNBC.