Xiaomi unveils new flagship smartphone, naming Chinese singer as brand ambassador to pump up domestic sales

Xiaomi, the world’s fourth largest smartphone supplier, launched a new medium-to-high-end model on Wednesday, naming an 18 year old Chinese singer and actor as brand ambassador in a move to shore up slipping sales in the hypercompetitive domestic market.

The Mi 9, priced from 2,999 yuan (US$444) is the company’s first smartphone to be launched since it turned its budget Redmi line into an independent brand last month, a move that has enabled it to pursue the high-end segment of the smartphone market.

“We set the price after a heated internal discussion. The original price we thought of was 3,299 yuan,” Lei Jun, the chairman and chief executive of Xiaomi, said at a press conference on Wednesday. “I had sleepless nights over the past few days before coming to that decision.”

A version with a see-through back is priced from 3,999 yuan.

In India last year, where Xiaomi unseated Samsung Electronics from top spot in the country’s smartphone market, the Chinese company created a sub-brand called Poco to target the premium sector. Xiaomi has 29 per cent of the market in India, the world’s second largest smartphone market, according to a recent report by IDC.

During Wednesday’s product launch, Lei also announced an exclusive collaboration with popular Chinese short video app Douyin, allowing Mi 9 users to optimise videos with filters and its super-wide panoramic camera.

While Xiaomi is the leader in India, its smartphone sales in the highly competitive mainland Chinese market declined by more than 34 per cent in the fourth quarter ended December, according to IDC.