China's Xiaomi Aims Its Priciest Phone at Huawei and Apple (bloomberg.com)

Xiaomi really wants to shed its down-market image. China's No. 2 smartphone maker is counting on its most expensive device yet to face off against Huawei and Apple at home while carving out a bigger footprint in Europe. From a report: The Chinese smartphone maker on Thursday unveiled the MIX 3, the fourth generation of a series introduced in 2016. Xiaomi's latest effort to acquire a premium gloss features a bezel-less 6.4-inch screen, Qualcomm processors and slick ceramic body. It now sports front-facing cameras on a sliding structure nestled behind the screen, doing away with the notch popularized by the iPhone. The device will go on sale from November starting at 3,299 yuan ($475) and going all the way up to 4,999 yuan for a "Forbidden City" special edition. It marks Chairman Lei Jun's effort to make greater headway into a more profitable premium market dominated by Apple, Samsung and -- to an increasing extent -- Chinese rival Huawei. That's where customers have deeper pockets to pay for services such as music and games that Xiaomi deems the future of its business. Xiaomi claims that its MIX 3 handset is the first commercial handset that is 5G ready (though the variant with 5G capabilities will go on sale in Europe only in the first quarter of next year.) Other specs of the handset includes: Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845; Screen: 6.39-inch FHD+ AMOLED (1080Ã--2340, 19.5:9 aspect ratio); RAM: 6/8/10GB; Rear camera: 12-megapixel, f/1.8 + 12-megapixel, f/2.4; Front camera: 24-megapixel, f/2.2 + 2-megapixel; Battery: 3,200 mAh; Internal memory: 128/256GB.

Comments

The Luxury phone (That everyone has)

[jellomizer]

Everyone is trying to be the Rolex of Phones. However such devices depreciate in value, so they cannot be priced as such. So while the $1000 phone is on the pricey side, it isn't really something you can go to a stereotypical snobby party and impress your peers with. That Premium Luxury phone is so common that you will fail to impress the blue collar worker, who may have the same model (but may had to sacrifice a bit more to get it) And within 3-4 year. The price would depreciate so much that they cannot be given away.

Unlike a Rolex Watch which if I got one 50 years ago, it would still be worth a lot of money, probably more then you bought it for, and would still be useful and valuable.

These phone makers are trying to be the big name in premium, while not making a premium product. Mostly because technology depreciates so quickly, and are still priced at a level people can afford if they really want them.

Sure these devices are something that is always on you, and probably should look good as well be functional. But these companies put a lot of effort into trying to be something they will not become.