Empowering Partners, Enriching Users: Xiaomi's Sustainable Open Ecosystem for Apps, Services, and Content
- Leveraging its unique capabilities as a smartphone manufacturer, Xiaomi is building open ecosystems that span apps, games, services, and content
- Under the "Grow with Xiaomi" strategy, the company provides comprehensive solutions to drive user engagement and revenue growth for its partners
[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.]
The global smartphone market has witnessed extraordinary expansion over the past decade, driving widespread mobile internet adoption. Today, an estimated 5.3 billion people – two-thirds of the world's population – are connected to the internet. This digital transformation presents a dual opportunity: consumers increasingly demand convenient, personalised online services, while developers and brands seek to capitalise on this growing audience to expand their reach.
In this dynamic and promising ecosystem, smartphone manufacturers have become pivotal players. Through their unique on-device capabilities, they deliver diversified services that meet the needs of both users and developers, unlocking boundless opportunities for sustainable growth and shared success across the ecosystem.
Having achieved years of innovation and strategic growth, Xiaomi has maintained its position among the top three global smartphone manufacturers for 17 consecutive quarters, establishing itself as a leading player in the mobile internet landscape. Through its extensive device network and HyperOS platform, Xiaomi enables seamless connectivity across user scenarios; in September, 2024, the company's customisable operating system serves 685.8 million monthly active users worldwide.
At the recent Xiaomi Internet Partner Conference 2025 in Singapore, the company showcased GetApps, its overseas official app store, which is designed to create value for users and developers. GetApps has expanded its reach to over 100 markets, boasting a monthly active user base of over 260 million and facilitating more than 30 million daily new installations.
Beyond popular apps, Xiaomi GetApps offers curated content, including puzzle games and utility apps, etc. These thriving categories within the open ecosystem cater to users' niche needs and preferences while offering developers access to targeted audiences.
The company's proprietary OEM capabilities, such as Minicard, enhance efficient app distribution. As an on-device capability, Minicard offers a flexible and seamless app distribution experience. Its frictionless download and installation process achieves a 26% improvement in conversion rates. These results stem from Xiaomi's core system capabilities, enabling Minicard to perform end-to-end optimisations, including prioritised downloads, one-click installations, and fast cold starts, etc.
Furthermore, when integrated with Xiaomi's payment solution for monetisation, users receive exclusive discounts of up to 10%, while developers benefit from greater In-App Purchase (IAP) revenue potential through a competitive 25% commission rate and additional bonuses of up to 10%. This integration also helps Minicard drive a 20% increase in Average Revenue Per User (ARPU).
On the content front, Xiaomi has established an ecosystem featuring Granular Services, powered by Xiaomi HyperOS for instant accessibility. By deconstructing apps into core service modules, Xiaomi enables users to add services directly as widgets to their home screens with a single tap. These widgets provide live previews with real-time status updates, allowing users to access key services without downloading full apps. This streamlined approach improves convenience and efficiency, enabling users to engage with developers' core services more quickly, which significantly boosts conversion rates.
Xiaomi excels in digital marketing through its OEM native ad experience and AI-powered platform. Its OEM native integrated marketing solution features a range of capabilities, including dozens of on-device entry points that reach over 400 million monthly active users. This solution effectively maximises conversion opportunities across all user stages—whether potential, indecisive, or loyal. By utilising OS-level data and intelligent algorithms, Xiaomi's proprietary ad platform delivers outcome-based insights and user acquisition solutions, enabling developers to execute highly effective marketing campaigns.
For monetisation, Xiaomi optimises the commercial value of applications through the Columbus Monetisation Platform. This platform empowers developers to boost in-app advertising revenue by combining premium direct clients with demand-side platforms, providing SDK integration for standard ad formats and processes, and offering support from a dedicated team of specialists. Having successfully integrated three mainstream mediation platforms, it now works with over 1,500 apps across 30 regions. Combined with on-device capabilities such as Minicard, the platform delivers improved monetisation performance, achieving a 10% increase in Effective Cost Per Mille (eCPM).
The synergy between user acquisition and monetisation capabilities enables developers to drive sustainable growth within Xiaomi's open internet business ecosystem. PUJIA8, a developer of highly popular casual games, has achieved new monetisation opportunities and significant growth through collaboration with Xiaomi's team. The tailored ad solutions improved user retention, maintaining a healthy balance between monetisation and player satisfaction, while driving an 8% increase in total ad revenue.
