Xiaomi. A Chinese language tech big which makes virtually each conceivable kind of shopper electronics.
One of many main names in international smartphones, with a market share overwhelmed solely by Apple and Samsung.
An organization that’s now onto its sixteenth technology of flagship handsets, and the maker of one of the best digicam telephone you should buy proper now.
If there’s one agency that may take dangers and attempt to stand out from the gang, it’s Xiaomi. For a few years, that’s precisely what it’s been doing, contributing to the fast development we’ve seen throughout the patron tech business.
Sadly, with its new Xiaomi 17 sequence, the corporate is doing the precise reverse. Not solely is it displaying few indicators of innovation, however it’s additionally copying one other firm and never even attempting to cover it.
Should you learn the headline above, you’ll know precisely which one I’m speaking about. The Xiaomi 17 sequence debuted in China simply 15 days after Apple launched the iPhone 17 sequence, and there are far too many similarities for my liking.
Unfortunate quantity 16
Should you’re conversant in Chinese language telephones, the 17 sequence being the sixteenth technology of Xiaomi flagships gained’t come as an enormous shock.
In spite of everything, the quantity 4 is taken into account unfortunate in China, as a result of its pronunciation in Mandarin and Cantonese sounding much like the phrase for “loss of life”. Consequently, many Chinese language telephone makers skip the quantity 4, leaping straight from three to 5.
However Xiaomi didn’t try this – certainly, it launched the Xiaomi Mi 4 again in 2014. As a substitute, it stunned many individuals by skipping 16 as an alternative, that means the Xiaomi 17 sequence is a successor to the Xiaomi 15 sequence.
Xiaomi
So, was this one other determination rooted in tradition and custom? Er…no. In asserting the Xiaomi 17 on Weibo, the corporate’s Companion and President Lu Weibing mentioned the corporate is “instantly competing with the iPhone in the identical technology and on the similar degree”.
That’s proper. Xiaomi skipped a technology simply so its flagships may very well be on the identical quantity as Apple’s iPhone. A bit determined for those who ask me.
Nevertheless it will get worse.
The Xiaomi 17 sequence contains three new telephones: the Xiaomi 17, 17 Professional and 17 Professional Max. Sound acquainted?
Sure, Xiaomi has additionally determined to repeat the naming conference of Apple’s iPhones. Sigh. I genuinely wouldn’t be stunned if we noticed a Xiaomi Air subsequent yr to tackle the iPhone Air.
I consider there are two basic flaws with this method. Firstly, it confuses consumers unnecessarily. In search of a successor to the wonderful Xiaomi 15 Extremely? It may not appear like there’s one, till you realise that’s what the Xiaomi 17 Professional Max is supposed to be.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Secondly, it makes it appear as if Xiaomi 17 telephones are an off-brand different to the iPhone 17, not rivals that may go head-to-head with Apple.
Clearly, Google has additionally set its sights on the iPhone, as its current advert reveals. However may you think about it releasing a Pixel 10 successor generally known as the Pixel 18, simply because Apple is because of launch the iPhone 18? What about Samsung ditching the upcoming Galaxy S26 sequence in favour of the Galaxy S18?
These corporations could be ridiculed for being ‘obsessed’ with Apple, and I feel we must always maintain Xiaomi to the identical requirements.
New design? Assume once more
To be truthful to Xiaomi, its 17 Professional and Professional Max have one thing Apple can’t match: a display screen on the again. It may be utilized in quite a lot of conditions, from selfies and music controls to viewing calls and notifications.
Nonetheless, there’s no denying that the design of those telephones has a minimum of been impressed by the iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max. On all 4 handsets, the digicam bar stretches throughout the complete high of the again of the machine, regardless of all of the lenses being grouped on the left aspect.
Xiaomi
With identically sized shows (6.3 inches on the Professional, 6.9 inches on the Professional Max), very related dimensions and rounded corners, the Xiaomi 17 Professional and Professional Max may simply cross for iPhones for those who eliminated the logos on the again.
The bottom fashions share some placing similarities as effectively.
Xiaomi
For me, this homogeneous design language isn’t one thing to which Xiaomi ought to be aspiring.
HyperOS? Extra like iOS-lite
Okay, okay, the naming system and designs are eerily related, however a minimum of Xiaomi has its distinctive software program, proper?
Fallacious. Now, truthful sufficient, Xiaomi’s newest HyperOS 3 software program is distinctly Android, and possibly nonetheless has extra in frequent with a Pixel telephone than an iPhone.
However the gradual creep in direction of iOS has gathered tempo in current variations. What began out as an Apple-inspired splitting of the notifications and fast settings panels has grow to be a full-blown copy of iPhone software program.
Don’t consider me? Check out Xiaomi’s official web page for HyperOS 3 and see what you discover.
Sure, that’s Apple’s Dynamic Island, laughably rebranded as “Xiaomi HyperIsland”. As for its performance, we’ve seen all of it earlier than.
And oh look, new lock display screen customisation that’s straight out of the iOS 26 playbook. Even the house display screen, which I’ve beforehand criticised for its primary icon design and garish color scheme, now appears to be like identical to the iPhone – supplied you’ve received Liquid Glass turned off.
Xiaomi
I’m not saying that iPhone die-hards may change to Xiaomi and instantly really feel at residence – certainly, HyperOS 3 has loads of options that iOS 26 is lacking, and vice versa. However the basic appear and feel of the software program is remarkably related.
Why is Xiaomi copying the iPhone?
This all begs the query: why is Xiaomi doing this?
The one cheap rationalization is market share. Even within the firm’s native China, Xiaomi’s slice of the smartphone pie is lower than half of Apple’s (in keeping with StatCounter) and has dropped considerably prior to now yr.
In the meantime, Apple is totally dominant within the US, a market during which Xiaomi isn’t energetic. Although it’s not unprecedented for Chinese language manufacturers to launch telephones within the States, their impression is normally very restricted.
A extra lifelike goal, subsequently, is Europe, the place Xiaomi telephones are already extensively obtainable. Many would contemplate this market to be an Apple-Samsung duopoly, although Xiaomi is effectively forward of the competitors in third place (in keeping with StatCounter).
It’s clear there’s a possibility for Xiaomi to develop right here, and it appears to suppose one of the simplest ways of doing that’s by changing into the iPhone of the Android world. Samsung, the opposite market chief, has a distinctly completely different method, whereas even Google’s Pixel telephones don’t conform by way of design or options.
Even when there are logical causes for Xiaomi to pursue this path, I’m nonetheless disillusioned. The corporate has confirmed time and time once more that it will probably make telephones that match and even surpass the iPhone, a minimum of on the {hardware} aspect.
I strongly consider that there are different strategies for rising its market share in markets akin to Europe, as an alternative of changing into a pale imitation of an organization that many Android customers dislike.
I’d hate for Xiaomi’s telephones to be generally known as barely inferior variations of the iPhone, but when the model continues down this path, I worry that’ll be an inevitability.