Xiaomi has been on a downward spiral since 2022. It got embroiled in the case with the ED, which froze its assets. Then it lost its number 1 spot in the smartphone market and some key executives, including Manu Kumar Jain, its former country head and global VP. But with a new cadre of executives now running the show, the team is working overtime to repeat a dream run it enjoyed for nearly a decade. The Chinese manufacturer has already launched refreshes to the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ line and its most ambitious smartphone, the Xiaomi 13 Pro, which has a camera system co-engineered with Leica. Now it’s time for its portfolio of smart home devices.
While Samsung may have usurped Xiaomi from the top pedestal for smartphones in India, it remains the top dog for smart TVs. Its air purifiers also remain very popular. Since the advent of the pandemic, it has branched out into newer product categories such as robot vacuum cleaners and even personal grooming tools like beard trimmers.
At a smarter living event in Bengaluru, Xiaomi announced a slew of new products, including an update to its Smart Air Purifier, a new TV series called the Smart TV X Pro, and an affordable new Robot Vacuum-Mop 2i, which brings the cost of the robot vacuum cleaner down to less than Rs 20,000. There are also new beard trimmers and a personal grooming kit.
While these products are likely good offerings that retain Xiaomi’s tried and tested mantra of affordability, the company needs to do more to reverse their downward spiral. Xiaomi’s products have lost their Midas touch. They seem like remixed iterations of older products and barely move the needle in terms of breaking new ground.
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Resetting is key
Xiaomi’s penchant for punching above its weight has often been laudable, but this strategy worked when it was an upstart. It isn’t one anymore — it’s a tech major, the global number three in smartphones alone. Its smart air purifier 4, on a technical level, looks great, with great filtration abilities and the ability to cover a lot of ground. But to claim it looks better than a Dyson air purifier, a company known for design panache, is outlandish and pompous, even in a tongue in cheek way. Even more so, they claimed it was quieter and more effective than the Dyson which also cools the room was misleading.
Also, comparing a product that costs more than Rs 25,000 to something that is half its price is a Porsche vs Hyundai parallel. Mind you, what Xiaomi did here was compare its most advanced Air Purifier with Dyson’s entry-level product. This chicanery doesn’t work. It used to when Xiaomi could wow people with cutting-edge specs on products that were priced very affordably. But when you aspire to be bolder, this appears a marketing strategy that doesn’t suit the brand. Especially when after-sales issues are aplenty. Many people complain that they can’t get new filters, something I’ve faced as well. What’s the point of a snazzy new air purifier if you can’t buy filters?
Recently, the brand discontinued its water purifier without much notice and many owners have been complaining about poor filter support for this product as well.
The new smart TVs also come with Google TV and Dolby Vision IQ support. But these are iterative updates. Xiaomi has added 40-watt speakers to this TV — a more high-end sound bar would’ve been more attractive and useful to customers who already have a smart TV. Now, it seems Xiaomi refreshes for the sake of refreshing things.
The robot vacuum cleaner had generated much interest among people, including this writer. When it was first launched in 2020, I reviewed it and then bought it for myself. Today, it’s gathering dust instead of sweeping it from my floor. Why? Its bristles got ruined and there is no replacement in sight. My own vacuum cleaner did not turn out to be as effective or reliable as the one that came for review even as the bristles worked fine. It could be a defective unit, but then Xiaomi should have adequate customer support to fix these teething issues.
The good news is that with the Vacuum Mop 2i, Xiaomi has now democratised the technology even more at a handy Rs 16,999, which is cheaper than before. Xiaomi has to clean up its act with after-sales for what is on paper a good product.
Xiaomi needs to release fewer products that have more meaning, and improve after-sales of its smart home products to truly be counted among the consumer electronics giants. There are signs of this, at least on the smartphone side of things with the Xiaomi 13 Ultra incoming featuring a groundbreaking variable aperture Leica camera system. But on the smart home side of things, it needs to do more.
Sahil Mohan Gupta is Founder, warpcore, and Editor, Technology at Acko Drive. Views are personal.
(Edited by Anurag Chaubey)