Barcelona Mobile World Congress: Xiaomi launches 5G-capable smartphone

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Europe

02:57

China's Xiaomi, the world's fourth-largest smartphone maker, has launched a new smartphone during the major international mobile conference in Barcelona. This new product will be able to take advantage of new and faster 5G mobile networks. CGTN's Filio Kontrafouri has this story.

5G phones are finally here. Some companies stunned the world with their price tags. Xiaomi did the exact opposite.

Xiaomi press conference "Give me a price for this 5G phone, 699. Come on, we can do better than that. 599!"

For the first time in its short history, Xiaomi launches products during the world's biggest mobile conference. The Mi9 and the Mi Mix 3, so far the cheapest 5G flagship phone on the market.

DONOVAN SUNG DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, XIAOMI "We are trying to change people's perception of what good products should cost. We have this very open pledge that we will forever limit our net hardware profit margins only 5%. That's just a key part of our model. Not a model that every company does but we do. So we can sell the price very close to the price of the product."

Xiaomi says its model is about selling the best products at a cost, a model the company says, works everywhere in the world. After expanding in India and Asia, Xiaomi is now eyeing Europe.

DONOVAN SUNG DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, XIAOMI "Europe is a really important market, it's a western market, it's also one of the first markets that 5G will become widely available and we have really cutting edge technology company. So we want to be here at the forefront."

Xiaomi is currently Europe's number 4 player by shipment. The company's chief recently said in 2019 Xiaomi is aiming to dominate the European market.

PACO CANOS INDUSTRY ANALYST "What they are offering to clients is a nice product, it's not something cheap. It's something good and performs accordingly. Perhaps it doesn't have a big whistle but they don't need it. 90% of the market is between 300-600 euros. The upper market is for a small portion of the population."

FILIO KONTRAFOURI BARCELONA "Xiaomi's Mi9 is already available in Europe and the 5G phone will be available in May. So it won't be long before the company knows how and if these two new devices helped push its bid to take the number one spot in Europe. Filio Kontrafouri, CGTN, Barcelona."