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China's Xiaomi Announces New Venture To Bring Budget Flagship Smartphones To Over 50 Markets; Announces $300 Handset Featuring Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 (venturebeat.com)

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the china-calling dept.

Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi has made a name for itself selling impressively durable smartphones at aggressive price points. But the company has so far focused on low and mid-tier handsets that it mostly sells in China and neighboring countries. At an event in New Delhi, India today, the world's fourth largest smartphone maker announced an ambitious plan to expand its offerings and reach. From a report: Xiaomi announced a new venture called Poco under which it plans to produce and sell high-end handsets that would compete directly with the top offerings by OnePlus and Samsung, two companies that have demonstrably performed well in what analysts call the "budget flagship" smartphone segment. To mark the debut of the new venture, the company today unveiled the first handset under the Poco umbrella, the Pocophone F1. The handset houses top-of-the-line hardware modules, including Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 845 SoC, a 20-megapixel selfie camera, and fast-cooling tech to sustain performance, in a polycarbonate body. The base model, which in addition to Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC also features 6GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage, is priced at Rs 20,999 ($300), less than half the price of an arguably comparable Samsung handset. The handset, which runs a customized version called MIUI, which is based on Android 8.1, would be sold in more than 50 markets, the report added.

Further reading: Chinese Smartphone Maker Xiaomi Says It is Working To Enter the US Market Next Year.

72 comments

  1. thanks, but.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    we already have enough cheap devices on the market with exploits and spyware pre-loaded.

    1. Re:thanks, but.. by Joce640k · · Score: 2

      Plenty of expensive ones, too. Yours included.

      --
      No sig today...
    2. Re:thanks, but.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So we should work on making more expensive devices with exploits and pre-loaded spyware?

    3. Re:thanks, but.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He means China's government which owns major corporate manufacturing in China also puts their own backdoors in products they sell worldwide, and only fucking morons would ever buy them. FTFY

    4. Re:thanks, but.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Such as your iPhone, or any other phone by an American manufacturer, which has been proven to be true after the NSA/CIA leaks. Also, there has never been any proof of spyware or exploits in Huawei's phones, only accusations and refusals to back them up. The picture is very clear.

    5. Re:thanks, but.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thanks to the manufacturers' (including Google) short support windows, many Android devices are out-of-date and vulnerable to exploits. Combine that with the fact that many handsets are locked into earlier versions of Android, and the problems worsens. Even worse, almost every month a new report surfaces in which malware riddled apps have been discovered in the Play store which have been downloaded to millions of handsets. These are inconvenient facts for many in the Android community, but they are a significant problem in the Android ecosystem. Look at how many Android devices are still vulnerable to the Broadcom hack, even years after it was discovered.

      Contrast that with Apple's long support window for their handsets, and the ability for iPhones to update to the latest iOS across many product generations, as well as Apple's history of providing security updates for earlier iOS branches. And there are no such reports of malware riddled apps due to Apple's app approval procedures.

      If you care about security for your mobile data, it is clear which handset manufacturer you should choose.

    6. Re:thanks, but.. by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      And ... you have evidence to back this up? Or just Xenophobia?

      --
      No sig today...
    7. Re:thanks, but.. by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      My Xioami updates/patches itself quite regularly, thanks.

      --
      No sig today...
    8. Re:thanks, but.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you care about security for your mobile data,

      If you care about the security of your mobile data, you should smash the thing with a hammer. Over and over and over. Otherwise, its just a matter of which corporate overlord is going to own you.

    9. Re:thanks, but.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This right here. I've been using Xiaomi for almost a year, and they've been absolutely great with updates and patches. Plus, should the device get old, it won't prevent me from installing app updates the way Apple does.

    10. Re:thanks, but.. by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 1

      Also, in whose reality is $300 "cheap"? A cheap phone of roughly the same type is $100 or less, and an actually cheap phone, which is what'd be required for India where this one was pitched, is $20-30. $300 is an expensive phone. $800-1000 is a fucking expensive phone.

  2. Communist Party of CN and Google want your data! by sinij · · Score: 1

    Communist Party of China and Google wants you! Enlist now.

  3. Re:Communist Party of CN and Google want your data by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

    Communist Party of China and Google have you! You are already automatically enlisted, no further actions are necessary on your part.

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
  4. Re:Communist Party of CN and Google want your data by Mr.+Dollar+Ton · · Score: 1

    The Communist Party of China is the largest capitalist business on Mother Earth. Has been so since about the midpoint of Deng's rule.

    Get up to date on your information, citizen, and bow to the raw power of Capital Unlimited, with no "democracy" to get in the way.

  5. Race to the Bottom! by chill · · Score: 2

    Let the formal race to the bottom begin!

    This should drive prices to consumers down, but might also start shaking out the competition and reduce the number of vendors.

    --
    Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
    1. Re:Race to the Bottom! by Tough+Love · · Score: 2

      It's a clear and present danger to Apple

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
  6. Self-contradiction by rossdee · · Score: 1

    "Budget Flagship"

    LOL

    1. Re:Self-contradiction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's a new division with a new product line, this is the biggest offering in that line, and it fits within a smaller budget. Ergo, "budget flagship".

      Of course, they could charge $700 to be like everyone else.

    2. Re:Self-contradiction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      What do you call it when it has the almost same performance as other brands flagships but costs a fraction of the price?

      If you buy a phone for the function then yes, you can consider it a flagship.
      If you also need to show people how much money you spend on a phone then no, you can't really use this phone for that.

  7. Re:Communist Party of CN and Google want your data by sinij · · Score: 1

    Well, being had by these isn't binary and there are progressive levels of loss of privacy. There are extreme cases that are worthwhile avoiding, such as leaking location data, associations, medical history.

    Google knows relatively little about me, I don't have Android or any Google apps, I use multiple search engines, and I don't generally over-share online.

  8. Budget Flagship? by NitroWolf · · Score: 1

    Budget
    Flagship

    Pick one.

    1. Re:Budget Flagship? by CastrTroy · · Score: 2

      Flagship is really just the one that they are pushing the most. It doesn't have to be expensive. Personally I think this is the best way for unknown names like Xiaomi to get westerners to take notice of their products. If they can offer a high end phone for half the price of the competition, then they are going to get the attention of a lot of people. They can still sell higher end phones to the people who want to buy them, but the majority of their marketing should go towards a phone that a large number of people can afford. This is similar to car manufactures pushing lower end vehicles because they know that's what the majority of people buy. No point in spending billions of dollars marketing a product that only a small portion of the population can afford.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    2. Re:Budget Flagship? by Mr.+Dollar+Ton · · Score: 1

      The Xiaomi flaships are phones that are roughly on par with the best "brand" phones out there, at less than half the price - you can get one for less than 350 euros. Xiaomi mid-tier (Note) will have some cheaper components, but still be great phones at a price of less than 200 euros. I don't know about the cheap models. Software support is great, boot is unlockable (the recent 360 hours delay being annoying, but still...) they distribute rootable roms themselves, and there is a bunch of 3rd party roms, too.

      Still one of the best brands to buy if you're after a hackable smartphone, imho, unless they continue to fuck with unlocking.

    3. Re: Budget Flagship? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shut up ! Don't spill the beans.

    4. Re:Budget Flagship? by hey! · · Score: 2

      If you mix bullshit into the barrel, everything in the barrel turns to bullshit.

      I think what you're zeroing in on is that a flagship phone is supposed to be a status symbol, but really phones should be a tool. With the exception of a superior camera, most of the characteristics that make a flagship are of questionable utility. I was sitting next to a woman on the airplane who had a Samsung S8, with the wrap-around screen. She had it in a case so that wrap-around part of the screen was under the bezel the case added to the phone.

      What's the point? For the price I'll take a smaller, thicker phone and buy a GoPro.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    5. Re:Budget Flagship? by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      For the price I'll take a smaller, thicker phone and buy a GoPro.

      Cameras on midrange phones are getting really nice too. I just love what I can do with my G6+. (But of course I stil use the DSLR for anything serious.)

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    6. Re:Budget Flagship? by Tough+Love · · Score: 2

      It doesn't take a genius to see that the $1000 phone will soon go the way of the $5000 desktop. It was a status symbol at one time, now it isn't. If you need an expensive status symbol, buy a watch.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
  9. Not Gonna Buy It, But Glad It Exists by EndlessNameless · · Score: 2

    This will put pressure on the prices of competing devices that I might buy.

    If one or two manufacturers drop out of the market, well, too bad. There are dozens of phone manufacturers.

    The limited selection in the US market is primarily due to carrier interference. If one of their OEMs goes away, they'll partner up with someone else.

    --

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    According to the latest ruleset, this post should be modded as Vorpal Flamebait +5.
  10. Wait what? by Ecuador · · Score: 4, Informative

    "But the company has so far focused on low and mid-tier handsets..."

    I beg your pardon? Xiaomi for those who actually know the company, because indeed it had not been trying to sell globally until relatively recently, was well known for its high quality, yet inexpensive, flagship Mi series. Sure, their cheaper series like the various Redmi were higher volume, but one of the main points of the brand was that you can get a flagship phone that was higher quality than the other Chinese makers and still stay at around $250 - $300. It was always trying to be "the Apple of China".
    I got tired of paying $600+ for Samsung Galaxy, especially given various issues I had and the Mi 4 was the first time I switched to Xiaomi, to find out I could get the same hardware, including things like Gorilla Glass etc, for almost a third of the price, with a longer lasting (and non-exploding) battery. And I even preferred the Android distribution (MIUI) which does get updated often.
    And Xiaomi went beyond run-of-the-mill flagships, e.g. their original Mi Mix was one of the first "bezel-less" phones and it got copied by many companies. I currently have last year's Mi Mix 2, which was the first smartphone that I found "exciting" in quite a long time (I guess since the amazing Nokia N9 running Maemo/Meego).
    So, no, a $300 flagship is what they have been doing for several years now, and they had Snapdragon 845 phones for a while (Mi Mix 2S), so the only difference I see is that they now are starting to give very silly names to their new phones. As much as I have enjoyed Xiaomi, I cringe at the thought I'd get a device called the "Pocophone". Oh, and they are trying to expand their markets, but that's not exactly news, they've been doing steps for a while now (e.g. the Mi Mix 2 was their first phone that supported US LTE bands like T-Mobile so they seem to be preparing for jumps to the West).
    And no, I don't mind that (in addition to Google etc), Xiaomi tracks me instead of Samsung. I mean, it's in the price of owning a smartphone, get a feature phone if you want to avoid it.

    --
    Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
    1. Re:Wait what? by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      "But the company has so far focused on low and mid-tier handsets..."

      I beg your pardon?

      Yep. My Mix 2 128Gb is hardly "low or mid-tier" - it beats almost everything else out there on every specification you can name.

      (and only $500)

      --
      No sig today...
    2. Re: Wait what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly. They had their $300 flagship Mi line that would compete with Samsung/LG etc and since the first Mi Mix they have a $500 line that pushes the envelope, a bit like the iPhone X, but with usually more useful stuff than notches.
      On that note, they have, sadly, joined the idiotic notch bandwagon. Hopefully it won't last long...

    3. Re:Wait what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think they can be successful in the US. Despite the fact that nearly all smartphones are made in China, Americans have a real problem with Chinese company names. Most Chinese name-branded products are at the very bottom of the market cost-wise. Americans don't trust Chinese quality in general. This will take decades to change, if it can change at all.

    4. Re:Wait what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nothing beats the Acer Liquid Zest for worst phone name, except the Acer Liquid Zest Plus. :D

    5. Re: Wait what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Xiaomi all by itself made me appreciate how far the Chinese have come. Were I young, I'd rather move to Shenzhen than to Cali nowadays. The US is a slowly decomposing beached whale.

    6. Re: Wait what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No you should go anyway, we don't need you in the US. You're Chinese garbage like these Xiao-backdoor phones.

    7. Re:Wait what? by Ayanami_R · · Score: 1

      Hm, easy fix, make a new brand for the west.

      --
      "Science is the power of man"
    8. Re:Wait what? by AHuxley · · Score: 3, Insightful

      A good phone, a really great phone is about US$300-400. Put a US brand name on it and it becomes $1000.
      China wants to build its own brand names and not only make parts for US brands.
      To build the brand now they will offer a low price and great quality.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    9. Re:Wait what? by grep+-v+'.*'+* · · Score: 2

      I've paid $250 (special) for a Xiaomi Mi MAX 2 a year ago -- it's wonderful. Android 7.1, 4G RAM, 64G storage, 2 SIMs or a SIM and a uSD, a 5.3A battery (it runs for over 2 days with me actually USING it) and a bloomin' big bright screen. The screen has a thin vertical bezel and is almost as big as Google's original Nexus screen released 6 years ago that had humongous edges everywhere.

      It apparently has radios for GSM, but doesn't for CDMA (Verizon) which I knew before I bought it. I use my old CDMA phone as a hotspot for the Mi which works great.

      The only thing "wrong" is that I can't insert a Verizon SIM (I could, but I think only data, not voice is there.) and can't use a VoiP system as the default dialer, or can't connect the dialer to the (any) VoiP app.

      Google Voice does a good job of voice and SMS access though, so not really a problem. When this one finally breaks I'm buying another, period. My Moto G+5 lasts for over a day with the screen off and hotspot on, otherwise it goes for maybe 6 hours.

      --
      If the universe is someone's simulation -- does that mean the stars are just stuck pixels?
    10. Re:Wait what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Paid $350 for Xiaomi Mi 6 (6GB RAM, Snapdragon 835) a couple of months ago - the phone has been on the market for a year and a half already and still offered ridiculous performance for a price which would otherwise get me a low-end phone from the "traditional" brands.

      I'll soon replace my second phone - a Sony Xperia XZ (an overheating, lagging piece of shit) with a Xiaomi Mi 8 SE. Can't wait to get my hands on that.

    11. Re:Wait what? by johnsie · · Score: 1

      I switched from Samsung to Xiaomi Redmi 4X in 2017 and haven't looked back. You're basically getting high end phones at a fraction of the price. Octocore CPU, 6gb RAM, 64GB rom in 2017 for less than $200. It's over a year old now and still working great.

    12. Re: Wait what? by johnsie · · Score: 1

      You seem to be obsessed with Backdoors. You gay or what?

    13. Re:Wait what? by johnsie · · Score: 1

      Battery life in Xiaomi phones is excellent. This was one of the main reasons I decided to get the Redmi 4x which has been a joy to use for the last year.

  11. ARE YOU A FUCKING SEARCH ILLITERATE JOCE640K? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    USE GOOGLE MORON, it took all of 3 seconds to find this information : https://thehackernews.com/2016/09/xiaomi-android-backdoor.html

    1. Re:ARE YOU A FUCKING SEARCH ILLITERATE JOCE640K? by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      I see an article saying they could do something, if they wanted to, but no evidence that they are doing that.

      Is there anything there that couldn't be done by any other manufacturer? Isn't already being done by other manufacturers?

      --
      No sig today...
    2. Re:ARE YOU A FUCKING SEARCH ILLITERATE JOCE640K? by notb666 · · Score: 1

      Use Google? The company that records/tracks every move you make online?
      So you trust Google but not Xiaomi, just because one collects it for America and the other for China?
      The thing is, at the end of the day most of them are all the same. If you're online then someone is always trying to track you and collect as much information they can get their hands on.

    3. Re:ARE YOU A FUCKING SEARCH ILLITERATE JOCE640K? by notb666 · · Score: 1

      And btw, if you were so "search literate", you would use DuckDuckGo and not Google.

  12. You're kind of a moron huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And they can even install apps without your consent, because YOU ARE A DUMBASS and you trusted a Chinese phone manufacturer : https://thehackernews.com/2016/09/xiaomi-android-backdoor.html

    1. Re: You're kind of a moron huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You should see what Google's autoupdate does....

  13. Me parece muy poco, mejor no lo compro by williamyf · · Score: 1

    Supongo que los asesoro para el branding la misma gente a la que se le ocurrio el mitsubishi "pajero"

    For the english speaker, Poco in spanish means little, while pajero means wanker.

    my post in english says:

    It seems to be very little, better not buy it.

    I guess that they got branding advice from the same people that came up with the mitsubishi pajero.

    --
    *** Suerte a todos y Feliz dia!
    1. Re:Me parece muy poco, mejor no lo compro by iampiti · · Score: 1

      Yeah Pocophone doesn't sound very well in Spanish. Anyway, the "pajero" was renamed "montero" in Spanish speaking countries, at least here in Spain

    2. Re:Me parece muy poco, mejor no lo compro by johnsie · · Score: 1

      It doesn't matter what it's called as long as it does what the user wants it to do and is good value for money. The name of something doesn't affect it's capability in any way.

    3. Re:Me parece muy poco, mejor no lo compro by williamyf · · Score: 1

      During my IMBA at Instituto de Empresa, we had a business case about Global brands which selected names that were downright offensive in other languages. Pajero was but one example of bad names in spanish. And there were examples in other languages too.

      I guess that in a couple of years, Pocophone will be added to the infamous list.

      --
      *** Suerte a todos y Feliz dia!
  14. I am really looking forward to the Chinese phones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The other makers have completely lost the will to innovate and provide features other than "SHINY" as they slavishly copy Apple's design. Hopefully additional brands will either fill the gaps or drive the traditional brands away from their current thinking.

  15. So you're intentionally illiterate, that's nice. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A RECENT XIAOMI BACKDOOR IS WHAT YOU READ ABOUT THERE. You can pretend it doesn't say what it says and posit rhetorical questions about other products having flaws too, but what it says is Xiaomi's have BACKDOORS.
    Continue playing stupid but don't pretend we don't notice, thanks!

    https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/us/politics/china-phones-software-security.html
    "Secret Back Door in Some U.S. Phones Sent Data to China, Analysts Say"

    http://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/27486/security/xiaomi-handset-usersdata.html
    Another

    http://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/34583/hacking/xiaomi-mi-4-preinstalled-malware.html
    Another

    http://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/49346/hacking/xiaomi-smartphone-flaw.html
    Another

  16. Re:So you're intentionally illiterate, that's nice by Joce640k · · Score: 1

    Yeah, Apple would never do that.

    https://www.counterpunch.org/2...

    --
    No sig today...
  17. EXCELLENT WHATABOUTISM COMRADE JOKE640K! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So we've gone from you denying Xiaomi had several backdoors in its products or Chinese government connections to talking about Apple/Google/Anyone else, eh comrade? Try less whataboutism, more reading.

    1. Re:EXCELLENT WHATABOUTISM COMRADE JOKE640K! by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      Nope. Again.

      When you're given lemons, make lemonade.

      --
      No sig today...
  18. You should see my whataboutism! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes, google and apple and everyone do different things we don't like either, but Xiaomi had backdoors to Beijing. We can talk about other phones having flaws, but that's a change of subject from Xiaomi's backdoor problem.

    Yes, Google is a lot cozier with China's totalitarian surveillance/disappearance state than any of us would like, and they also spy on us in different ways. Excellent change of the subject, but not a defense.

    1. Re:You should see my whataboutism! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yes, google and apple and everyone do different things we don't like either, but Xiaomi had backdoors to Beijing. We can talk about other phones having flaws, but that's a change of subject from Xiaomi's backdoor problem.

      Look, everyone and his mother knows about the backdoors, you need to think one step further.
      Let me show you why people doesn't care about what you say:

      Chinese government spies on: Their citizens, other countries officials.
      NSA spies on: Their citizens, other countries officials.

      This is a typical case of my enemies enemy is my friend.

      If you are a US citizen you should go for a Chinese phone. The Chinese government isn't going to abuse your data the way the US government does.
      If you are a Chinese citizen you should go for a US phone, the US government isn't going to abuse your data the way the Chinese government does.
      If you work in the government in either country, go for local brands and have your local intelligence agency secure it for you.

    2. Re:You should see my whataboutism! by johnsie · · Score: 1

      Show me a phone company that doesn't have backdoors in their product and I will introduce you to a real unicorn.

    3. Re:You should see my whataboutism! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      if you are not a federal employee with secrets in your phone, just a random dude, a chinese backdoor in your phone is less of a problem than a "insert your own country" backdoor on your phone. Thats a fact. since sung ting wong has no fucking power over you, the backdoor is less of a problem

      i dont think is that fucking hard to understand

    4. Re:You should see my whataboutism! by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      Excellent reasoning.

      Beijing doesn't care what I do with my phone - because I'm not in China.

      All US citizens should be embracing that concept

      --
      No sig today...
  19. You're a moron by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Chinese are spies, you're an easy mark. You deserve to be naked in their databases you dumb cunt.

    1. Re:You're a moron by johnsie · · Score: 1

      As opposed to the NSA, MI5 and Mossasd, all of whom have been proven to be hacking and spying on their own citizens.

  20. Unlockable phones with LineageOS support by Juju · · Score: 2

    Don't forget you can also unlock their devices and install custom ROMs. There is also quite good official support from LineageOS (although you might have to go unofficial for a while with newer devices.)

    --
    Black holes occur when God divides by zero.
  21. We already know!!! by sentiblue · · Score: 1

    Those new smartphones will look exactly like iPhone X and any future versions of it... with one inevitable exception: They will come pre-loaded with some kind of SuperFish app that will send cookies, surfing history, usernames/passwords, messages, phonebooks back to the factory for "customer satisfaction research".

    1. Re:We already know!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So in other words, exactly like the iPhone X and any future versions of it, with no exception... got it!

  22. Who lives in a market? by manu0601 · · Score: 1

    Who lives in a market? I do have a home country, state, nation... but market?

    1. Re:Who lives in a market? by johnsie · · Score: 1

      You do. People are the product.

    2. Re:Who lives in a market? by manu0601 · · Score: 1

      People are products for Google, and Facebook, because they are not the ones that pay.But they are still customers to carriers, and half products, half customers for smartphone makers.

  23. Unabused auto-update != back-door by buchanmilne · · Score: 3, Interesting

    My Samsung S6 came pre-installed with software not owned by Samsung which I cannot remove (e.g. Peel Remote). The new versions pushed by the developer contain more intrusive changes including video adverts that play when I unlock the phone, which I assume also leak private information to advertisers. So, in practice, Samsung allows *others* to deliver malware to my phone.

    My wife's Xiaomi seems much more customer-friendly than my S6, and receives security updates more promptly.

    At this stage, I am more in favour of Xiaomi than Samsung to replace my S6.

    Xiaomi's justification for the analytics app, and their explanation of the signature-checking makes it quite apparent that their motivation is right, but they could (and have, e.g. switching to HTTPS in MUIU 7.3) improve the security.

    However, I wouldn't call it a back-door, it's an auto-update mechanism (like Flash, Java etc. all do or have done on Windows), with no evidence that they have used it for anything malicious.

    Microsoft *has* abused their auto-update mechanism intended for security and bugfixes to deliver software the users don't want, yet I don't see you complaining about that and claiming that WindowsUpdate is a back door.

  24. Re:So you're intentionally illiterate, that's nice by buchanmilne · · Score: 2

    https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/us/politics/china-phones-software-security.html
    "Secret Back Door in Some U.S. Phones Sent Data to China, Analysts Say"

    Only mentions Huawei and ZTE. Xiaomi phones don't ship with the software mentioned.

    http://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/27486/security/xiaomi-handset-usersdata.html
    Another

    Heard of iCloud? Same thing. It isn't required for use of the phone, only if you want to backup contacts and messages etc. to the 'cloud', in which case it sends, you guessed it, contacts and messages to their cloud service. But you don't have to register, and now even if you have registered you can disable it.

    http://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/34583/hacking/xiaomi-mi-4-preinstalled-malware.html
    Another

    This looks like a supply-chain attack. Did they try flashing with an original Xiaomi image? No.

    http://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/49346/hacking/xiaomi-smartphone-flaw.html
    Another

    If this was intentional, why have they put in a lot of effort to fix their mistakes? These are all 2-year-old issues that the company addressed very quickly once they were reported. Please give us a recent (less than 1-year-old) example, you know, one that actually applies to the current version of the software they ship on current hand-sets.