Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi takes aim at Samsung and Apple with latest $1,000 device

Xiaomi launched its flagship smartphone globally connected Sunday arsenic the Chinese electronics elephantine attempts to instrumentality a portion of the high-end marketplace and situation Apple and Samsung.

The Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro were primitively launched successful China successful December, but present the Beijing, China-headquartered institution is bringing the devices to markets overseas.

The Xiaomi 13 Pro instrumentality sports a 6.73-inch show and the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset from U.S. steadfast Qualcomm. It has a triple-lens camera and different premium features similar ultra-fast charging. The institution talked up the capabilities of its camera that it "co-engineered" with German steadfast Leica.

The Xiaomi 13 starts astatine 999 euros ($1,053) portion the 13 Pro starts astatine 1,299 euros.

Xiaomi had a unsmooth twelvemonth successful 2022 with its smartphone shipments declining 26% year-on-year, according to probe steadfast IDC, the biggest autumn among the apical 5 biggest handset vendors. The institution swung to a nonaccomplishment successful the September quarter, the latest fiscal results available.

Xiaomi has faced a fig of headwinds, successful peculiar a much hard macroeconomic situation with a slowing system successful China. A full of 1.21 cardinal smartphones were shipped in 2022, which represents the lowest yearly shipment full since 2013, according to IDC.

"Xiaomi is facing aggregate headwinds wrong China from an ever-popular Apple iPhone, a amazingly beardown Honor, and fickle Chinese consumers who often power betwixt Android hardware brands successful a flash," Neil Mawston, an expert astatine TechInsights, told CNBC via email.

Honor is the Chinese smartphone marque that was spun disconnected from Huawei.

Xiaomi has turned into 1 of the biggest smartphone makers implicit the years via a strategy of bringing retired high-spec devices astatine precise competitory terms points. It began pushing into overseas markets astir 7 years ago, pursuing a akin strategy. But it is present looking to propulsion into the higher extremity of the market, wherever margins are higher and the marketplace is inactive growing.

High-end smartphones, those that outgo implicit $800, accounted for 18% of the full handset marketplace successful 2022, up from 11% successful 2020, Canalys information shows. Xiaomi's propulsion into the premium tier volition pit it against Apple and Samsung, which volition beryllium a situation for the Chinese rival. Samsung and Apple devices accounted for 92% of the high-end marketplace successful 2022, according to Canalys.

"Competing with Apple and Samsung is incredibly difficult. Not conscionable matching marketplace starring products, but peculiarly going up against tremendous companies with exceptional marque awareness, high-end perceptions, acquisition focused solutions and merchandise ecosystems with precocious user-stickiness," Runar Bjørhovde, probe expert astatine Canalys, told CNBC via email.

Xiaomi is the latest Chinese smartphone subordinate that is trying to ace the high-end of the market. Oppo launched its archetypal foldable phone for the overseas marketplace this period that costs much than $1,000.