3 ms·

What kind of warped reality do you live in that only selling 5 million units a year while updating the hardware every week is "no big deal"? Regarding rapid ob

What kind of warped reality do you live in that only selling 5 million units a year while updating the hardware every week is "no big deal"? Regarding rapid obsolescence, this seems to work very well in Asian markets. They typically release a far greater number of devices, because there is a strong market for second hand phones, and many people like to keep switching to the latest thing.

JonFish85 13y ago
The 5 million by itself is fine. It's the comparison to Apple that seems out of whack to me. The article doesn't compare them to a startup, it compares them to one of the biggest companies in the world. If you do that, you invite criticism on the comparison, which is what I gave.
- kkowalczyk 13y ago
  Xiaomi is 3.5 years old, currently only sells in China and in Chinese market it has already overtaken Apple in market share. I think comparing them to Apple on the basis of sold phones in China is justified. Looking into my crystal ball, I further think that their strategy is so brilliant and their execution is so good that we're witnessing the rise of a new giant. Give it 5 years and they'll be in the same league as Apple and Samsung on a world-wide basis, not just in China.
gibwell 13y ago
Do you seriously think that Xiaomi makes the kind of changes that Apple makes to their products annually on a weekly basis?
- lotyrin 13y ago
  Do you seriously think they would have to before it's worth being impressed over?
  - gibwell 13y ago
    It's impressive if it is good for the customers, but the comparison with Apple is uninformative linkbait.
r0h1n 13y ago
Seconding the rapid obsolescence point about Asian markets. The CEO of one of the leading mobile phone retail chains (440+ stores) in India (3rd largest global smartphone market after China and the US, might be second largest very soon) told me consumers are changing phones every 9 months on an average. This is the mass market he's referring to, not the folks who're spending $600-800 on the latest iPhones or Galaxy Notes. Still, makes me feel positively ancient given I used my Nexus One for nearly 3 years before moving to the Nexus 4.

JonFish85 13y ago

The 5 million by itself is fine. It's the comparison to Apple that seems out of whack to me. The article doesn't compare them to a startup, it compares them to one of the biggest companies in the world. If you do that, you invite criticism on the comparison, which is what I gave.

kkowalczyk 13y ago
Xiaomi is 3.5 years old, currently only sells in China and in Chinese market it has already overtaken Apple in market share. I think comparing them to Apple on the basis of sold phones in China is justified. Looking into my crystal ball, I further think that their strategy is so brilliant and their execution is so good that we're witnessing the rise of a new giant. Give it 5 years and they'll be in the same league as Apple and Samsung on a world-wide basis, not just in China.

gibwell 13y ago

Do you seriously think that Xiaomi makes the kind of changes that Apple makes to their products annually on a weekly basis?

lotyrin 13y ago
Do you seriously think they would have to before it's worth being impressed over?
- gibwell 13y ago
  It's impressive if it is good for the customers, but the comparison with Apple is uninformative linkbait.

r0h1n 13y ago

Seconding the rapid obsolescence point about Asian markets. The CEO of one of the leading mobile phone retail chains (440+ stores) in India (3rd largest global smartphone market after China and the US, might be second largest very soon) told me consumers are changing phones every 9 months on an average. This is the mass market he's referring to, not the folks who're spending $600-800 on the latest iPhones or Galaxy Notes. Still, makes me feel positively ancient given I used my Nexus One for nearly 3 years before moving to the Nexus 4.