I cringe whenever I read an article that refers to Xiaomi as the “Apple of China”. I think it’s a poor comparison and it’s an insult to the Apple brand.
Why?
Before I go into it let me first tell you that I am a Huawei ambassador (one of Xiaomi’s main competitor in China) but these opinions are purely my own and my own only. I also first had a horrible experience with XiaoMi (Which I blogged about on Dayre) before I started using Huawei and became their ambassador.
Now here’s what Apple is known for:
- Ground-breaking technology – There was a period of time where every new release of Apple products got everyone excited. Why? Because it pushed the boundaries of technology. Sometimes it wasn’t so much that they invented things but they took things that were already out there and made it really simple for everyone.
- Great quality products that lasted – There was a reason why people were and are still willing to pay premium for an iPhone or a Macbook vs all the other brands. It’s because they make great products that last.
Now take a look at what Xiaomi has done:
- They are yet to introduce to the market a ground breaking product – Everything they produce is a copy and cheaper alternative of something else. Their MIUI OS on the phone looks so much less stock Android and much more iOS. They don’t stop at the OS too, when fitness bands are in, they come out with the Mi Band, The copying goes as far as the Founder & CEO wearing the same black turtle neck Steve Jobs is famous for wearing and having “One more thing…” in their presentations.
This is not the Apple of China. This is a COPY of Apple FROM China. Now being a blatant copycat wouldn’t bother me so much if they made great affordable products for the masses… but this brings me to the second point.
2. They make TERRIBLE phones – When I first opened my Xiaomi Note, I noticed the camera had a black spot in every picture I took. No matter what I did it wouldn’t go away, so I decided to send it back for warranty. The service center for Xiaomi in KL is in Lowyat. I waited for a couple weeks before they finally gave me back my phone. Since then this Mi Note has gone in and out of service centers another twice more in the next few months. That makes it about 3 times in a 3 month plus period and each time having to wait at least a week before I got my phone back.
The phone and MIUI really looks nice when you first play around with it but if you use it long enough you realize it’s really a house of cards. The phone doesn’t last and breaks down all the time. The service centers are packed which makes you wonder if it’s because everyone elses’ phone is breaking down too.
Compare this to Huawei. I love my Huaweis and I think they make great phones. Even then I once had my older Huawei Mate S break down on me too. I brought it back to the service center and within 2 hours they had my phone back for me. 2 hours instead of a week. I can do without a phone for 2 hours… I can’t for a week let alone 2 or 3 weeks.
So here we have a company that copies Apple and makes bad products. Should this company be referred to then as the “Apple of China”? China… being the 2nd largest economy in the world and the home of truly innovative tech companies like Tencent and Alibaba?
I think not. So to the mainstream media, please stop referring to Xiaomi as the Apple of China. They’re a Chinese phone manufacturer no doubt, but they’re no Apple.
Timothy Tiah – Co-Founder of Colony, Kuala Lumpur Co-Working Space