China Internet Watch https://www.chinainternetwatch.com China Internet Stats, Trends, Insights Tue, 18 Jun 2024 13:18:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/wp-content/uploads/cropped-ciw-logo-2019-v1b-80x80.png China Internet Watch https://www.chinainternetwatch.com 32 32 China AR/VR market faces decline in Q1 2024, but optimism for H2 growth https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/34043/ar-vr-headsets-shipment/ Tue, 18 Jun 2024 13:18:01 +0000 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/?p=34043

According to IDC's latest data, China's AR/VR headset shipments totaled 107,000 units in the first quarter of 2024, representing a significant year-over-year decline of 37.8%. Despite this downturn, the market shows signs of potential recovery in the latter half of the year.

In Q1 2024, the Augmented Reality (AR) segment saw shipments of 8,000 units, marking an impressive year-over-year increase of 119.2%. The Extended Reality (ER) segment experienced even more robust growth, with shipments reaching 44,000 units, up 136.2% from the previous year.

Conversely, Mixed Reality (MR) shipments dropped by 52.7% to 34,000 units, and Virtual Reality (VR) shipments fell sharply by 72.6% to 22,000 units.

Market Insights and Trends

AR and ER Market Analysis

The combined AR and ER market saw a total of 52,000 units shipped in Q1 2024. Splittable glasses led the ER segment with 44,000 units, reflecting a 150.4% year-over-year growth. Integrated glasses shipments were 8,000 units, ...

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China’s IoT spending to reach US$298 billion by 2026 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/31628/iot-market-trends/ Mon, 09 Jan 2023 12:50:37 +0000 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/?p=31628

In 2021, the global enterprise-level investment in the Internet of Things was about US$681.28 billion, which is expected to increase to 1.1 trillion US dollars in 2026, with a five-year compound growth rate (CAGR) of 10.8%.

Affected by the epidemic, IDC slightly reduced the total spend forecast of China's Internet of Things market in 2022.

However, with the optimization and adjustment of epidemic prevention and control policies and measures, the development of China's Internet of Things will maintain a stable and good trend in the next five years.

China IoT spending forecast

Specifically, IDC predicts that in 2026, the scale of China's Internet of Things investment will be close to 298.12 billion US dollars, accounting for about a quarter of the global total investment in the IoT. In addition, China's Internet of Things spending grew steadily with a five-year CAGR of 13.4%, exceeding the global average....

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China Internet of Things market forecast 2021-2026 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/32502/iot-cloud-platform-forecast/ Mon, 13 Jun 2022 00:45:32 +0000 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/?p=32502

In 2021, the global Internet of Things (enterprise-level) expenditure reached $690.26 billion and is expected to reach $1.1 trillion in 2026, with a five-year (2022-2026) compound growth rate (CAGR) of 10.7%, according to data from IDC.

Among them, China's enterprise market will reach US$294 billion in 2026, with a compound growth rate (CAGR) of 13.2%. The global share is about 25.7%, remaining to be the world's largest IoT market. In 2026, the IoT hardware market will account for 42.8%.

By 2026, the manufacturing industry represented by smart factories, the government segment represented by smart cities, the retail industry represented by online and offline omnichannel operations, and the public utility industry represented by smart power grids will account for more than 60% of China's enterprise-level IoT market expenditure.

The number of Internet of Things connected devices in China reached 7.4 billion units in 2020 and is expected to exceed 15 billion by 2025, according to...

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China smart device market overview 2022 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/33504/smart-device-market/ Wed, 04 May 2022 00:00:18 +0000 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/?p=33504

Smart Home is the largest smart device segment in China with over 185 million monthly active users, followed by Wearable, Smart Automobile, Smart Accessories, and Smart Health.

Huawei Sports is the top smart device app with over 69.07 million MAU, followed by Xiaomi's Mijia app (86 million MAU).

Huawei has the largest smart device share of about 28%, followed by Apple, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi.

The number of connected IoT devices has reached 9.38 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach about 20 billion by 2025.

China IoT market to account for 45% of global spend by 2025

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Top 10 forecasts of China’s smart home market 2022 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/31574/smart-home-forecasts/ Mon, 20 Dec 2021 00:45:22 +0000 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/?p=31574

In 2021, China's smart home market starts upgrading and adjusting in the pressure and transformation on both sides of supply and demand, and gradually optimize the problems exposed after the market surge.

Facing the vast opportunities to be explored ahead, in 2022, China's smart home market will deeply focus on platforms, applications, technologies, and scenarios, explore the ecological construction of smart home, and build a bridge to service, according to IDC.

In the first half of 2021, China's smart home equipment market shipment was about 100 million units, and the annual shipment in 2021 is expected to be 230 million units, with a year-on-year increase of 14.6%, according to data from IDC.

In the next five years, the compound growth rate of shipments in China's smart home equipment market will continue to increase by 21.4%, and the market shipments will be close to 540 million units in 2025.
10 Forecasts for 2022
1. Smart home platform ecology will extend to all use cas...

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China smart speaker market overview 2021 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/31704/smart-speaker-market/ Tue, 23 Feb 2021 01:45:04 +0000 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/?p=31704

In 2020, the smart speaker market in China sold 36.76 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 8.6%; among them, smart speakers with screens accounted for 35.5% and sales increased by 31.0%, according to data from IDC. Baidu leads the smart speakers (with screens) market, followed by Alibaba and Xiaomi.

The overall market share this time is mainly affected by the epidemic, channel adjustments, and limited application scenarios.

In 2020, the competitive landscape of China's smart speaker market still maintains a tri-power competition, with sales accounting for more than 95% of the market share. Among them, the competition between Alibaba's Tmall Genie and Baidu's Xiaodu smart speakers is particularly fierce.

From the perspective of sales in 2020, Alibaba's Tmall Genie ranked first. In the fourth quarter of 2020, the cooperation between Baidu and Pinduoduo won the sales champion in that quarter.

In the smart speaker market with screens, Baidu maintained its lead with a m...

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More than half Chinese consumers used smart home devices during COVID-19 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/31576/smart-device-covid19/ Tue, 12 Jan 2021 03:09:19 +0000 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/?p=31576

Since March 2020, 70% of consumers have reported making changes in their living environment due to spending more time at home during the pandemic, and more than half (51%) have reported purchasing at least one smart device during that period, according to a new study by Xiaomi.

Stay-at-home orders changed the very notion of how people interact and live in their homes, driving people to reconfigure their physical space to meet new functional requirements, including working and learning at home, creating at-home gyms, or finding new ways to relax and enjoy themselves.

The survey found that 3 out of 5 respondents said that since their leisure and work environments have become one, it has become harder to carve out personal space to relax and find joy at home.

Of those, 63% purchased smart home devices, 82% adapted a room for working from home during COVID, and 79% reconfigured at least one room.

Connected homes, automated systems, and new technology are helping people create e...

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Baidu launched cloud-based virtual smartphone https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/30469/baidu-cloud-mobile-phone/ Fri, 17 Apr 2020 08:04:43 +0000 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/?p=30469

Baidu Smart Cloud officially released "Cloud Mobile Phone". The so-called Cloud Mobile Phone is a virtual smartphone with all applications running on the cloud so that the performance of the mobile phones can no longer be limited by its hardware.

Baidu Cloud Phone is a combination of ARM server, cloud computing, and Android OS.

It is based on the independently developed ARM server and ARM virtualization technology; it provides a cluster management and control platform for virtual phones in the cloud; and, it controls cloud phones remotely and in real-time to realize the cloud operation of Android apps.

In this virtual system, users can run large-scale games and applications 24 hours a day without the restriction of local configuration and performance, and almost without taking up local system resources.

Baidu Cloud Phone supports 4K resolution, 4096 video code rate, and 60 frame rate, fully compatible with 32-bit and 64 bit systems. It realizes accelerated support for nati...

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Xiaomi highlights in 2019; MIUI MAU up 28% to 310M in 2019 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/30423/xiaomi-q4-2019/ Fri, 03 Apr 2020 07:08:33 +0000 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/?p=30423 In 2019, Xiaomi’s total revenue was RMB205.8 billion, an increase of 17.7% year-over-year. Adjusted net profit was RMB11.5 billion, an increase of 34.8% year-over-year. For Q4 2019, Xiaomi recorded RMB56.5 billion in revenue, an increase of 27.1% year-over-year, while adjusted net profit was RMB2.3 billion, an increase of 26.5% year-over-year.

For Q4 2019, Xiaomi achieved the highest year-over-year growth in smartphone shipments among the top five smartphone companies, according to Canalys.

In December 2019, monthly active users (“MAU”) of MIUI increased by 27.9% year-over-year to 309.6 million. As of December 31, 2019, the number of connected IoT devices (excluding smartphones and laptops) on its IoT platform reached 234.8 million, an increase of 55.6% year-over-year.

Xiaomi’s AI assistant had 60.4 million MAU in December 2019, an increase of 55.7% year-over-year. Xiaomi further expanded its global footprint with overseas revenue growing significantly, accounting for 44.3% of its total revenue in 2019.

Overseas revenue was RMB91.2 billion, an increase of 30.4% year-over-year. As of December 31, 2019, its products were sold in more than 90 countries and regions. According to Canalys, its smartphone shipments ranked the top five in 45 countries and regions in 2019.

In 2019, Xiaomi’s research and development expenses increased by 29.7% year-over-year to RMB7.5 billion. As of December 31, 2019, its total cash resources amounted to RMB66.0 billion.

Xiaomi Smartphone

In 2019, revenue from its smartphone segment reached RMB122.1 billion, an increase of 7.3% year-over-year. In Q4 2019, revenue from its smartphone segment was RMB30.8 billion, an increase of 22.8% year-over-year.

Xiaomi captured over 9% of the global smartphone market share in Feb 2020. Find out more here.

For 2019, Xiaomi shipped approximately 124.6 million units of smartphones, while in Q4 2019, shipments were approximately 32.6 million, an increase of 30.5% year-over-year.

In 2019, its dual-brand strategy showed encouraging results.

The Xiaomi brand focused on pioneering advanced technologies and successfully established a solid foothold in the premium smartphones segment.

The Redmi brand, on the other hand, continued to pursue the ultimate price-performance ratio across different price points and make innovative technologies readily accessible to the mass market.

With the launch of Mi 9 Pro, Mi CC9 Pro and the world’s first smartphone featuring surround display, Mi MIX Alpha, Xiaomi developed strong technological fundamentals in wireless charging, imaging, 5G technology, and next-generation smartphone design and are well poised to capture opportunities brought about by 5G technology in 2020.

In February 2020, Xiaomi launched its flagship 5G smartphone models the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro.

According to Canalys, the Redmi Note 7 was the best-selling smartphone model among all models made by Chinese companies in terms of global shipments in 2019.

In December 2019, Redmi launched its first 5G smartphone, the Redmi K30 5G, with pricing starting from RMB1,999, making it the first 5G smartphone priced below RMB2,000. Xiaomi believes the competitive pricing will accelerate the adoption of 5G smartphones by a larger population, enabling more people to enjoy leading technologies.

In 2019, the average selling price of its smartphones increased by 2.2% compared to 2018 and the gross margin of the smartphone segment increased to 7.2% from 6.2% in 2018.

In 2020, Xiaomi will continue to focus on 5G smartphones development and strengthen its presence in the premium smartphones segment, which will lead to further ASP expansion.

IoT and lifestyle products

In 2019, revenue from its IoT and lifestyle products segment was RMB62.1 billion, an increase of 41.7% year-over-year.

In Q4 2019, revenue from its IoT and lifestyle products segment was RMB19.5 billion, an increase of 30.5% year-over-year.

AIoT market in China has reached 380.8 billion yuan in 2019, with an increase of over 47%; check out the forecast for 2020-2022 here.

Xiaomi achieved leading positions in key IoT products that are controlling hubs for its AIoT platform, including TVs, wearable devices and smart speakers.

In 2019, its global TV shipments reached 12.8 million units, an increase of 51.9% year-over-year. In mainland China, its annual smart TV shipments exceeded 10 million units, which Xiaomi believe set an unprecedented record in China’s TV industry.

According to AVC, its TV shipments ranked first in mainland China and fifth globally in 2019. Xiaomi also ranked first in India in terms of smart TV shipments for seven consecutive quarters as of Q4 2019 according to IDC.

According to Canalys, Xiaomi is the world’s largest smart wearable device (including smartwatch and wristband) brand in 2019 by shipments. Xiaomi also ranked the top three in terms of smart speaker shipments in mainland China in 2019 according to IDC. Check out China’s wearable device in 2019.

Xiaomi also continued to expand its product portfolio in key smart home products by launching new products including washing machines and refrigerators.

In 2019, its IoT products won over 50 renowned design awards around the world. Recently, its Mijia Smart Baseboard Heater won the 2020 Red Dot: Best of the Best Award and Mijia Handheld Wireless Vacuum Cleaner won the 2020 iF Design Gold Award.

Xiaomi Internet services

In 2019, revenue from internet services reached RMB19.8 billion, an increase of 24.4% year-over-year. For the fourth quarter, revenue was RMB5.7 billion, an increase of 41.1% year-over-year.

In December 2019, MAU of MIUI increased by 27.9% year-over-year to 309.6 million with mainland China’s MAU of MIUI standing at 109.0 million.

In Q4 2019, advertising revenue was RMB3.0 billion, an increase of 17.8% year-over-year.

The MAU of its news feed service increased by 32.6% year-over-year to 78.7 million in December 2019. This was further bolstered by its efforts in increasing monetization through the optimization of its recommendation algorithms and diversification of its advertising customer base by expanding into more vertical industries.

In Q4 2019, online gaming revenue increased by 44.4% year-over-year to RMB874.4 million, mainly due to the strong performance of many popular games operating on its platform.

Diversification of its internet services has become a key growth driver of its internet services revenue.

In Q4 2019, its internet services revenue outside of advertising and gaming from mainland China smartphones, including those generated from the Youpin e-commerce platform, fintech business, TV internet services and overseas internet services, increased by 112.6% year-over-year and accounted for 43.0% of its total internet services revenue.

In 2019, the GMV of its Youpin e-commerce business grew rapidly, with annual GMV surpassing RMB10.0 billion. During the year, Xiaomi has enlarged its merchandise portfolio, insisted on selecting high-quality goods that appeal to its customers and increased its efforts in new customer acquisition.

As a result, the number of active buyers on Youpin showed strong growth momentum.

In Q4 2019, its fintech business delivered strong revenue growth, mainly driven by the growth in its consumer finance business. In January 2020, Xiaomi Finance successfully obtained a consumer-financing license from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

Xiaomi will continue to strengthen risk controls and strictly follow regulatory rules to maintain the healthy growth of its fintech business.

In Q4 2019, its TV internet services grew quickly primarily driven by the growth of its subscription business. In December 2019, MAU of its smart TVs and Mi Box were approximately 27.7 million, an increase of 49.1% year-over-year.

As of December 31, 2019, Xiaomi had 3.7 million paying subscribers, an increase of 62.9% year-over-year. Lastly, its overseas internet services business also witnessed rapid growth.

In India, 10 of its mobile apps recorded MAU of over 50 million in December 2019, including its Mi Browser, Mi Video and GetApps (an overseas version of Mi App Store).

Overseas markets

In 2019, overseas revenue was RMB91.2 billion, an increase of 30.4% year-over-year.

In Q4 2019, overseas revenue increased by 40.7% year-over-year to RMB26.4 billion, accounting for 46.8% of total revenue for the period. In Q4 2019, Xiaomi was the largest smartphone brand in India by shipments for the tenth consecutive quarter, capturing a market share of approximately 28.7%, according to IDC.

In Western Europe, Xiaomi continued to expand its market share.

According to Canalys, its smartphone shipments in the region grew 115.4% year-over-year in Q4 2019. In Spain, Xiaomi was the second-largest smartphone maker by shipments, achieving 65.7% year-over-year growth with a 22.8% market share.

Xiaomi ranked fourth in both France and Italy, with its smartphone shipments increasing by 69.9% and 206.2% year-over-year, respectively.

In 2019, its overseas IoT revenue grew rapidly, driven by the robust sales of its best-selling IoT products in overseas markets, including its smart TVs, wristbands, TWS earphones, and electric scooters.

In 2020, Xiaomi plans to step up its efforts in promoting its popular IoT products to more countries and regions.

Impact of the COVID-19 outbreak

In terms of the supply chain, Xiaomi experienced a temporary disruption in production in February and March 2020, due to the extended shutdown of Chinese factories.

However, its production capacity has recovered to 80%–90% of normal levels as of the date of this announcement. For its mainland China market, during the peak of the outbreak, its offline sales were affected as most of its stores were closed or operated at shortened hours with significantly lower customer traffic.

However, Xiaomi was comparatively less impacted due to its strength in online channels.

Xiaomi has seen smartphone shipments rebounding quickly in late March 2020, showing the resilience of smartphone demand.

For its overseas market, given that the epidemic is still affecting countries and regions around the world as of the date of this announcement, Xiaomi is closely monitoring and assessing its impact, which will likely defer the overall consumption in the affected countries.

While its overseas demand will undoubtedly be affected, particularly in the second quarter of 2020, Xiaomi believes the overall impact is currently manageable.

Investments

As of December 31, 2019, Xiaomi had invested in more than 290 companies with an aggregated book value of approximately RMB30.0 billion.

Xiaomi expanded its investment into supply chain companies to strengthen its partnership with key component suppliers, enhance its sourcing and manufacturing abilities in advanced technology and facilitate the development of the industries, in particular around 5G, IoT, AI, integrated circuits, advanced manufacturing, and industrial internet.

An increasing number of its investee companies have gone public.

In February 2020, Roborock, one of its investee companies, was successfully listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board of Shanghai Stock Exchange (“STAR Market”) in China, becoming its first ecosystem investee company to list on the STAR Market.

In Q4 2019, net gains on disposal of investments (after tax) were RMB869.0 million.

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Xiaomi in Q3 2019; IoT platform saw 213 million connected devices https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/30072/xiaomi-q3-2019/ Sat, 30 Nov 2019 08:55:06 +0000 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/?p=30072 The number of connected IoT devices on Xiaomi’s IoT platform reached approximately 213.2 million in Q3 2019, up 62.0% YoY. The number of users who have five or more devices connected to Xiaomi’s IoT platform increased to 3.5 million, an increase of 78.7%. MAUof MIUI, Xiaomi’s Android-based operating system, reached 291.6 million. In September 2019, Xiaomi’s AI assistant had 57.9 million MAU.

Xiaomi Financial Results

In Q3 2019, Xiaomi achieved RMB53.7 billion in total revenue, representing an increase of 5.5% YoY. Gross profit increased to RMB8.2 billion, representing a year-over-year increase of 25.2%. Adjusted net profit increased by 20.3% year-over-year to RMB3.5 billion. As of September 30, 2019, Xiaomi’s total cash resources amounted to RMB56.6 billion.

In Q3 2019, Xiaomi continued to execute Xiaomi’s “Smartphone + AIoT” dual-engine strategy and it yielded positive results. Xiaomi’s user base and the number of devices connected to Xiaomi’s platform have continued to grow robustly.

In September 2019, monthly active users (“MAU”) of MIUI reached 291.6 million, representing an increase of 29.9% over the corresponding period in the previous year.

The number of connected IoT devices (excluding smartphones and laptops) on Xiaomi’s IoT platform reached 213.2 million as of September 30, 2019, representing year-over-year growth of 62.0%. Meanwhile, Xiaomi’s AI assistant had 57.9 million MAU in September 2019, representing a year-over-year increase of 68.6%.

Xiaomi’s products were well received by consumers during the Double 11 Singles’ Day shopping festival in China. Xiaomi’s total payment for sales across all platforms and channels surpassed RMB6.1 billion in China.

Xiaomi’s flagship store on the Tmall platform achieved a total payment for sales of more than RMB2.1 billion, ranking 1st among all brand flagship stores on Tmall for the 7th consecutive year since Xiaomi first participated in the Singles’ Day shopping festival in 2013.

In October 2019, Xiaomi made its debut on the Fortune Future 50 list, ranking 7th, and was the second-highest ranked among all Chinese companies on the list. Furthermore, Xiaomi ranked 57th on Forbes’ Top 100 Digital Companies List.

Xiaomi Smartphones

Xiaomi’s smartphone segment recorded RMB32.3 billion in revenue in Q3 2019. Xiaomi’s smartphone sales volume in Q3 2019 reached 32.1 million units. According to Canalys, Xiaomi ranked 4th globally in terms of smartphone shipments in the third quarter of 2019, with a market share of 9.2%.

Following the introduction of Mi MIX 3 5G in Europe in February 2019, Xiaomi launched Xiaomi’s first 5G smartphone in China, Mi 9 Pro 5G, in September 2019, marking another milestone in its 5G technology development. Mi 9 Pro 5G was well received by the market.

In 2020, Xiaomi expects to launch ten or more 5G smartphone models to capture the 5G smartphone replacement cycle, starting from China.

Mi CC9

In Q3 2019 , Xiaomi continued to advance technologically and create breakthroughs. In September 2019, Xiaomi released Xiaomi’s concept smartphone, Mi MIX Alpha, a futuristic 5G smartphone featuring the world’s first surround display and a screen-to-body ratio of 180.6%, demonstrating Xiaomi’s continuous efforts in exploring cutting-edge technology. Xiaomi introduced Mi CC9 Pro in November 2019, which is the first mass-produced smartphone to carry a 108MP penta-camera.

It is also capable of up to 10x hybrid zoom and up to 50x digital zoom. Mi CC9 Pro Premium Edition achieved a DXOMARK score of 121 for overall camera performance, ranking 1st globally at the time of launch. It also achieved a DXOMARK score of 102 in the video category, the highest among all smartphones at the time of launch. Xiaomi also released an overseas version of this smartphone, Mi Note 10, in Spain in November 2019.

According to Canalys, Redmi Note 7 was the best-selling smartphone model among all models made by Chinese companies in terms of global shipments in Q3 2019. Xiaomi launched Redmi Note 8 and Redmi Note 8 Pro in August 2019, Redmi 8A and Redmi K20 Pro Premium Edition in September 2019, and Redmi 8 in October 2019.

The average selling price (“ASP”) of Xiaomi’s smartphones in mainland China continued to increase in Q3 2019, achieving year-over-year growth of 4.6%. The ASP of Xiaomi smartphones in overseas markets recorded a quarter-over-quarter increase of 7.8% and a year-over-year decrease of 4.1% in Q3 2019. The decrease was primarily due to a different product mix compared to the third quarter of 2018.

The gross profit margin of Xiaomi’s smartphone segment further increased from 8.1% in the second quarter of 2019 to 9.0% in Q3 2019.

Xiaomi IoT and lifestyle products

In Q3 2019, the revenue of Xiaomi’s IoT and lifestyle products segment rose by 44.4% year-over-year to RMB15.6 billion.

Xiaomi’s smart TV business maintained its leading edge in both mainland China and overseas markets. In Q3 2019, global shipments of Xiaomi smart TVs reached 3.1 million units, representing a year-over-year growth of 59.8%.

According to All View Cloud (“AVC”), Xiaomi ranked 1st in terms of TV shipments in mainland China in Q3 2019, with a market share of 16.9%. With Xiaomi’s consistent efforts to expand Xiaomi smart TV business globally, Xiaomi ranked top five in terms of global TV shipments in Q3 2019 according to AVC.

Xiaomi further expanded Xiaomi’s product offering in the high-end segment and launched Mi TV 5 and Mi TV 5 Pro in November 2019. Mi TV 5 Pro utilizes a 4K quantum dot display panel that covers a 108% NTSC wide color gamut and comes with HDR10+ support and built-in MEMC technology, enabling a premium picture quality.

Xiaomi has positioned large home appliances as strategic components of Xiaomi’s AIoT strategy. Focused on cutting-edge innovation, superior design and interactive experiences, Xiaomi is dedicated to enhancing the connectivity and compatibility of the whole suite of Xiaomi’s smart home appliances.

Following the successful launch of Xiaomi’s air conditioners and washing machines, Xiaomi launched Mi Refrigerator in October 2019, further expanding Xiaomi’s spectrum of products in the large home appliances category.

In October 2019, Redmi introduced the RedmiBook 14 Ryzen Edition and Xiaomi introduced Mi Laptop 15 Pro, both of which enjoyed widespread popularity.

Following the success of Xiaomi’s Mi Band, Xiaomi launched Xiaomi’s new wearable product, Mi Watch, in November 2019. Equipped with an independent eSIM and supported by MIUI For Watch, Mi Watch is dedicated to bringing Xiaomi’s customers the ultimate user experience in both hardware and software.

Many of Xiaomi’s IoT products have been well received by the market. For example, according to AVC, for the nine months ended September 30, 2019, Xiaomi’s fresh air ventilator was the top fresh air ventilator in mainland China in terms of several measurement aspects, including online brand sales, online single-product sales volume and value, while Xiaomi’s Mi Water Purifier ranked top two in terms of online sales value.

Xiaomi’s AIoT products won multiple domestic and international awards. Xiaomi’s Mi AI Touchscreen Speaker won multiple design awards, including the International Design Excellence Award (IDEA), the Red Dot Design Award, and the Good Design Award.

Meanwhile, Xiaomi’s Mi Router Mesh received a 5-star recommendation in the China Mobile 2019 Smart Hardware Quality Report, and Xiaomi’s Mi Electric Scooter Pro won the Expert Imaging and Sound Association’s Best Product (Electric Vehicle) Award.

Xiaomi Internet services

In Q3 2019, Xiaomi’s user base continued to expand. The MAU of MIUI increased by 29.9% year-over-year to 291.6 million in September 2019. Xiaomi’s mainland China MAU of MIUI remained flat year-over-year in September 2019 at 112.8 million.

The MAU of Xiaomi’s smart TVs and Mi Box achieved 50.1% year-over-year growth, reaching 23.9 million in September 2019.

Revenue from Xiaomi’s internet services segment grew by 12.3% year-over-year to RMB5.3 billion in Q3 2019. Advertising revenue decreased by 9.0% year-over-year to RMB2.9 billion, which was mainly due to pre-installation revenue decreasing to RMB376.6 million from RMB825.4 million YoY. This decrease partly reflected a shift in advertiser preference for non-pre-installation advertising. Excluding preinstallation revenue, advertising revenue grew 6.9% year-over-year in Q3 2019.

In Q3 2019, Xiaomi continued to diversify Xiaomi’s advertiser base by expanding into more vertical industries, including financial services and small- and medium-sized enterprises, to develop a more robust and healthier advertising business.

Revenue from gaming increased by 26.0% year-over-year to RMB822.3 million in Q3 2019. Xiaomi’s other internet value-added services grew by 78.2% year-over-year to RMB1.6 billion, primarily as a result of the strong growth in revenue of Xiaomi’s fintech business and Youpin e-commerce platform.

In Q3 2019, Xiaomi launched MIUI 11, featuring a minimalistic design with efficient office and smart travel application suites. Combining the improvements in efficiency with the new optimized modern user interface design, MIUI 11 provides an all-rounded upgrade to Xiaomi’s users.

With Xiaomi’s continuous efforts to diversify Xiaomi’s internet services business, Xiaomi’s internet services revenue outside of advertising and gaming from mainland China smartphones, including those generated from the Youpin e-commerce platform, fintech business, TV internet services and overseas internet services, increased by 87.8% year-over-year and accounted for 37.2% of Xiaomi total internet services revenue in Q3 2019 .

In Q3 2019, the gross merchandise volume of Xiaomi’s Youpin e-commerce platform maintained a strong year-over-year growth primarily due to the expansion of Xiaomi’s product categories on the platform and the continued growth and diversification of Xiaomi’s user base.

In Q3 2019, the revenue from Xiaomi’s fintech business increased by 91.2% year-over-year to RMB1.0 billion. The increase was mainly due to the strong growth achieved in Xiaomi consumer loan business.

In Q3 2019, Xiaomi’s revenue from TV internet services continued to grow, driven by the increase in both subscription revenue and advertising revenue. In September 2019, the MAU of Xiaomi’s smart TVs and Mi Box reached 23.9 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 50.1%.

As of September 30, 2019, Xiaomi had more than 3.2 million paid subscribers, representing year-over-year growth of 68.8%.

Xiaomi’s AIoT Strategy

In Q3 2019, Xiaomi continued to execute Xiaomi’s “Smartphone + AIoT” dual-engine strategy and maintained Xiaomi’s leading position.

As of September 30, 2019, the number of connected IoT devices (excluding smartphones and laptops) on Xiaomi’s IoT platform reached approximately 213.2 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 62.0%.

The number of users who have five or more devices connected to Xiaomi’s IoT platform (excluding smartphones and laptops) increased to 3.5 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 78.7%.

In September 2019, Xiaomi’s AI assistant had 57.9 million MAU with a year-over-year increase of 68.6% and continued to be one of the most used AI voice interactive platforms in mainland China. Meanwhile, Xiaomi’s Mi Home app had 32.1 million MAU in September 2019, with 63.0% of these active users being non-Xiaomi smartphone users.

Xiaomi continued to strengthen the connectivity across devices on Xiaomi’s AIoT platform. Xiaomi smartphones, smart TVs, AI speakers, and smartwatches can all act as controlling hubs for Xiaomi’s AIoT platform.

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Xiaomi launched new smartphones, smart watch, and smart TV for Double 11 2019 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/29994/xiaomi-smartphones-watch-tv-nov-2019/ Fri, 08 Nov 2019 06:40:27 +0000 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/?p=29994 Xiaomi launched multiple smart devices this week including several smartphones (Mi CC9 Pro, Mi Note 10, Redmi Note 8T), smart watch Mi Watch, and Mi TV 5.

Xiaomi Smartphones: Mi CC9 Pro, Mi Note 10

Mi CC9 Pro

Xiaomi CC9 Pro
Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro

Following the groundbreaking concept phone Mi MIX Alpha, Mi CC9 Pro sets another important milestone for the industry to become the world’s first mass-produced smartphone shipping a 108MP camera.

The 108MP main camera offers a 1/1.33″ large image sensor – twice as large as the mainstream 48MP cameras. It supports OIS and features an industry leading resolution of 12032 x 9024.

It also incorporates a 4-in-1 (1.6μm) Super Pixel with the latest RAW multi-frame noise reduction algorithm to capture rich detail, even in low-light conditions.

Mi CC9 Pro sports a penta camera setup that includes a 12MP telephoto camera, a 5MP telephoto camera, a 20MP ultra wide-angle camera, and a 2MP macro camera.

The 12MP telephoto camera supports 2x optical zoom with dual PD autofocus, while the 5MP telephoto camera supports 10x hybrid zoom. All cameras cover day-to-day needs for smartphone photography from landscape, portraits, close-up shots, and even for 1.5cm super macro photography.

A premium offering – the Mi CC9 Pro Premium Edition was also announced at launch. It comes with an 8P lens that produces images that are clearer and of higher definition. It also surged to the top of DxOMark camera rankings with an overall score of 121 and broke the record for video segment with a world’s highest score of 104.

On the hardware front, the Mi CC9 Pro dresses to impress with the flagship two-sided curved screen and a 6.47’’ 19.5:9 Full-HD Display. Adopting a COP sealing technology, Mi CC9 Pro has a 3.43mm chin bezel, making it the most narrow Xiaomi smartphone apart from the Mi MIX Alpha. Mi CC9 Pro also supports 30W fast charge, which brings its 5260mAh high-capacity battery to 100% under 65 minutes.

Mi CC9 Pro and Mi CC9 Pro Premium Edition will be priced at RMB 2799 and RMB 3499 respectively. Three color variants Aurora Green, Glacier White and Midnight Black will be available on official Xiaomi channels in Mainland China starting November 11, 2019.

Mi Note 10

Xiaomi also announced the return of its Mi Note series with Mi Note 10, the latest device of its premium flagship lineup.

Xiaomi’s Mi Note 10 encompasses five different lenses – a 108MP wide-angle lens, 5MP telephoto lens, 12MP telephoto lens, 20MP ultra wide-angle lens, and a macro lens. This setup enables a seamless zoom experience from 0.6x to 50x without compromising image quality.

With the Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX 108MP sensor, Mi Note 10 features the highest resolution of any smartphone on the market – 12032 x 9024.

Mi Note 10 Smartphone

For the first time ever, the 108MP camera can produce billboard-level prints up to 4.24 meters high. The device offers a 1/1.33″ large image sensor that supports 4-in-1 pixel binning to capture more detail in low-light conditions, while the 4-axis OIS enables unmatched clarity.

Photography enthusiasts who look to produce the most natural looking portrait photos will be pleased with the Mi Note 10’s 12MP 2x telephoto lens at 50mm focal length, which is one of the most popular focal lengths used by professional portrait photographers. Under low light conditions, the 1.4μm large pixel size and dual PD autofocus allows for sharper and brighter portraits.

The 5MP 5x telephoto lens is also capable of 10x hybrid and 50x digital zoom to complete the epic zoom range. In addition, the lens is equipped with OIS and a f/2.0 aperture for better images under non-optimal lighting environments.

With its 117 degrees field of view, the 20MP ultra-wide angle lets users capture epic landscapes and large group photos without having to cut people out; while the macro lens offers autofocus for closeups images.

Also presented today is Redmi Note 8T, the latest smartphone to join the Redmi family. The device offers a 48 MP quad camera setup and features high-end specifications, starting from €179.

Mi Watch

Featuring a flagship 1.78’’ AMOLED square screen, Mi Watch offers an immersive viewing experience with a 326 PPi pixel density and an elegant four-side curved design.

Being the world’s first wearable to sport a Qualcomm®️ Snapdragon WearTM 3100, Mi Watch guarantees a robust device performance and low power consumption. The device also boasts independent speakers, NFC function, and supports WiFi and Bluetooth connection.

Equipped with a built-in six-axis sensor and a 3rd generation heart rate monitor (HRM) sensor, Mi Watch is able to precisely detect complex motion gestures and heart rate fluctuations during physical activities.

With these capabilities, Mi Watch offers up to 10 pro-sport modes such as outdoor running, outdoor biking, open water swimming, and mountain climbing. It also works with professional sports analytics provider FirstBeat to closely track users’ sleep quality, blood pressure levels, heart rate, and physical energy.

Mi Watch also comes with eSIM, a built-in chip that allows users to make phone calls and connect to the internet effortlessly without inserting a physical nano-SIM. With such technology, users can either share the same phone number with their smartphone for seamless connectivity or have a new private number for the Mi Watch exclusively.

Adding on to all these flagship features, Mi Watch provides a revolutionary UI experience with the MIUI For Watch system, offering 100+ dial plate selections and 40+ of the most used apps for downloading. It also remains an open system for developers to create tremendous possibilities.

XiaoAi AI Assistant can be activated for users to easily use voice commands for music playback, phone calls, and navigation. When connected to the Xiaomi AIoT system, Mi Watch is capable of operating thousands of Xiaomi smart home appliances.

Along with the standard Mi Watch, Mi Watch Special Edition was also announced, with a limited offering of 30,000 units worldwide.

Featuring a major upgrade to blue sapphire glass as the screen material, the Mi Watch Special Edition adds a classy, aesthetic touch to your day-to-day look. The package also comes with an in-box magnetic charger, an adapter, laser-printed limited product code, suede cleaning cloth, certification for limited collection, and a personalized nameplate.

Mi Watch will be available at RMB 1999 for the Black and Silver color variants. Pre-orders start on November 5 via official Xiaomi channels in Mainland China. Mi Watch Special Edition will be priced at RMB 2999 and has a limited number of 30,000 units worldwide, pre-orders will start around mid-December.

Mi TV 5

The newly released Mi TV 5 series features a 1.8mm ultra-narrow metal bezel and a 5.9mm slim body, delivering a compact, futuristic design that is perfectly fit for a modern home.

On the performance front, Mi TV 5 series adopts a flagship 12nm T972 chip that is jointly developed by Xiaomi and Amlogic.

It has a core frequency of up to 1.9GHz, allowing a 63% improvement of overall performance compared to its predecessor, while concurrently supporting 8K content decoding. For storage, Mi TV 5 and Mi TV 5 Pro both provide industry-leading large memory capacity of 3GB+32GB and 4GB+64GB respectively.

Mi TV 5 Pro boasts a 4K quantum dot TV panel and an amazing 108% NTSC color spectrum compared to the industry standard of 72%.

It also meets one of the most outstanding HDR standards – HDR 10+ to provide a stunning graphic display for both game players and Blu-ray lovers. MEMC technology is also adopted to ensures a smooth and high-definition motion picture playback.

All Mi TV 5 variants are enabled with a Far-field Voice Recognition technology that allows users to wake theXiaoAi AI Assistant from a distance without the need of a remote control. Hence, it only takes a simple voice command to conduct film searching, weather checking, or smart device operations.

Built-in microphones are located right in the middle of the bottom frame and are on stand-by 24 hours a day, ensuring the Mi TV 5’s “XiaoAi AI speaker” is ready even during screen-saver mode.

Mi TV 5 Pro 55’’, 65’’ and 75’’ variants will be priced at RMB 3699, RMB 4999, and RMB 9999 while Mi TV 5 55’’, 65’’, 75’’ priced at RMB 2999, RMB 3999, and RMB 7999 respectively. Pre-orders start at 18:00 China time on November 5, and sales on official Xiaomi channels in China will start on November 11.

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Xiaomi in Q2 2019: smart hardware, IoT, AI, internet services https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/29705/xiaomi-q2-2019/ Sat, 24 Aug 2019 05:14:58 +0000 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/?p=29705

Xiaomi’s monthly active users (“MAU”) of MIUI reached 278.7 million, an increase of 34.7% YoY. AI assistant “ Xiao’ai ” had 49.9 million MAU; Xiaomi ranked 4th globally in terms of smartphone shipments; and, global shipments of its smart TVs reached 2.7 million units.

Xiaomi financial performance

In the second quarter of 2019, Xiaomi recorded RMB52.0 billion in revenue, representing an increase of 14.8% over the corresponding period of 2018. Gross profit margin increased to 14.0% from the 12.5% achieved in the corresponding period of 2018. Adjusted Net Profit increased by 71.7% to RMB3.6 billion. As of June 30, 2019, its total cash resources amounted to RMB51.1 billion.

The “Smartphone + AIoT” dual-engine strategy that Xiaomi adopted at the beginning of the year has borne fruit. Its user base has continued to expand and the number of devices connected to its platform has continued to grow.

In June, 2019, monthly active users (“MAU”) of MIUI reached 278.7 million, an increase of 34.7% over the corresponding period of 2018. The number of connected IoT devices (excluding smartphones and laptops) on its IoT platform reached approximately 196 million units as of June 30, 2019, representing year-over-year growth of 69.5%.

Meanwhile, its AI assistant “ Xiao’ai ” had 49.9 million MAU in June 2019, representing a year-over-year increase of 88.3%.

Xiaomi has won a number of international recognitions in 2019 to date. It took Xiaomi only 9 years to debut on the Fortune Global 500 list of 2019, becoming the youngest company on the list this year. Furthermore, Xiaomi made it into the 2019 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking for the first time, ranking 74th with a brand value of US$19.8 billion. Xiaomi has also been recognized as one of the 2019 Forbes China’s 50 Most Innovative Companies.

Xiaomi Smartphones

Its smartphone segment recorded RMB32.0 billion in revenue in the second quarter of 2019, representing an increase of 5.0% over the corresponding period of 2018. Its smartphone sales volume in the second quarter of 2019 reached 32.1 million units.

According to Canalys, Xiaomi ranked 4th globally in terms of smartphone shipments during the second quarter of 2019 and its market share in terms of global smartphone shipments increased from 9.5% in the second quarter of 2018 to 9.7% in Q2 2019.

Both its Xiaomi brand, which focuses on pioneering advanced technologies, establishing itself in the mid- to high-end markets, and building online and offline new retail channels, and its Redmi brand, which is positioned to pursue the ultimate price-performance ratio and focus on online channels have performed well.

After the launch of the new flagship model K20 series under the Redmi brand, Xiaomi has established a comprehensive Redmi smartphone product portfolio that covers a wide price range. In particular, the global sales volume of the Redmi Note 7 series reached 20 million units as of the date of this announcement, achieving this milestone in only around 7 months since its launch on January 10, 2019.

In addition, the global shipments of the K20 series already recorded more than 1 million units within the first month of its launch.

On July 2, 2019, Xiaomi launched the CC series under the Xiaomi brand, which includes Mi CC9, Mi CCe9, and Mi CC9 Meitu Edition. The CC series is positioned as a fashionable series targeting younger customers. The CC series places an emphasis on being visually appealing in terms of both form and function, offering stylish product design and enhanced photography experience.

Mi CC9 Meitu Edition is a joint development with Meitu Inc. which specifically targets the female user market. Leveraging its product development and supply chain management capabilities, as well as Meitu’s image-related algorithms and its deep understanding of female users, the Mi CC9 Meitu Edition offers outstanding photographic experiences and builds a solid foundation for its ongoing expansion into more diversified user markets.

Its products have been strongly recognized by the market as a result of the successful implementation of its multi-brand strategy. The average selling price (“ASP”) of its smartphones has continued to increase, achieving year-over-year growths of 13.3% and 6.7% in mainland China and overseas markets, respectively. In Q2 2019, the revenue generated by smartphones sold for RMB2,000 or more accounted for 32.3% of the total revenue of the smartphones segment.

Following the granting of 5G business licenses in mainland China, 5G technology has officially started to be implemented for commercial use. The commercialization of 5G technology could potentially lead to a new smartphone replacement cycle and boost the overall demand of the domestic market.

Xiaomi established a research and development team back in 2016 for advanced research on 5G technology and are now well-prepared for the commercialization of 5G. The Mi MIX 3 5G, its first 5G model was already available in various European countries, and its second 5G smartphone model will also be launched in China in the second half of the year.

The gross profit margin of its smartphone segment increased from 3.3% in the first quarter of 2019 to 8.1% in Q2 2019. During the early transition period from 4G to 5G technology, Xiaomi will continue to invest in research and development of relevant technologies while remaining prudent with its cash flows and profitability.

IoT and lifestyle products

In Q2 2019, the revenue of the IoT and lifestyle products segment rose by 44.0% to RMB14.9 billion over the corresponding period of 2018. Its smart TV business continues to have a leading edge in both mainland China and overseas markets.

Global shipments of its smart TVs reached 2.7 million units, representing year-over-year growth of 41.1%. According to AVC, Xiaomi ranked 1st in terms of TV shipments in mainland China for the six months ended June 30, 2019.

Xiaomi ranked 1st in terms of smart TV shipments in India for five consecutive quarters as of the second quarter of 2019. With its efforts in expanding its smart TVs globally, Xiaomi achieved a top 5 position in terms of global TV shipments for the six months ended June 30, 2019, according to AVC.

Xiaomi has positioned large home appliances as an important element of its AIoT strategy. Xiaomi will focus on innovation and product design, offering intelligent user experiences and promoting the enhanced connectivity and compatibility of its smart home appliances.

For the six months ended June 30, 2019, the shipments of its air conditioners amounted to approximately 1 million units. At the same time, Xiaomi has also entered the smart kitchen appliances market.

In Q2 2019, Xiaomi continued to enrich its IoT product portfolio. The market share of its laptops has been steadily increasing following the launch of its new products. On May 28, 2019, the Redmi brand introduced its first 14” slim notebook and enjoyed widespread popularity.

According to IDC Consulting (Beijing), the market share of its laptops in mainland China in terms of shipments increased from 5.5% in the second quarter of 2018 to 8.7% in Q2 2019. Its Mi Band ranked 1st in the global wearables market in terms of shipments in the first quarter of 2019.

Meanwhile, the Mi Band 4 recorded shipments of more than 1 million units within 8 days of its launch on June 14, 2019. In addition, Xiaomi has also launched several new products, including its AI Translator “Xiao’Ai Teacher”, Mi Smart Door Lock and Mi Smart Combo Wash and Dryer Pro, which are supported by its AI assistant “Xiao’Ai”. These product launches illustrated its continuous
the pursuit of excellent product design and quality.

Xiaomi has continued to improve the device-to-device interaction and enhance its users’ smart home experience. For example, when a user opens the door through a Mi Smart Door Lock, its
AI assistant will welcome him/her home. At the same time, the Mi Air Purifier, Mi Air Conditioner, and other smart devices could be switched on automatically. The Mi Smart Combo Wash Dryer Pro can be operated by the voice control function through its AI assistant

Xiaomi Internet services

In the second quarter of 2019, its user base continued to expand. The MAU of MIUI rose by 34.7% year-over-year from 206.9 million in June 2018 to 278.7 million in June 2019. The MAU of MIUI in mainland China was 115.1 million in June 2019. The MAU of its smart TVs and Mi Box achieved 53.8% year-over-year growth, reaching 22.6 million in June 2019.

Revenue from its internet services segment grew by 15.7% year-over-year to RMB4.6 billion in Q2 2019. Advertising revenue slightly decreased by 0.6% year-over-year to RMB2.5 billion due to a soft mainland China advertising market, particularly due to reduced advertising spending from other internet companies which contributed a meaningful portion of its advertising revenue.

Over the course of the last few quarters, Xiaomi has continued executing its strategy to diversify its advertising customer base. Through expanding into more vertical industries, such as finance and small and medium-sized enterprises, Xiaomi is developing a more robust and healthy advertising business to capture more future growth.

Revenue from gaming decreased by 4.1% year-over-year to RMB675.1 million. However, its gaming gross profit increased to RMB408.2 million in Q2 2019 from RMB212.5 million in Q2 2018, representing an increase of 92.1%. Its gaming gross profit margin increased from 30.2% in Q2 2018 to 60.5% in Q2 2019 as Xiaomi optimized its gaming distribution and had higher gaming revenue growth from content providers with a high gross profit margin. Its other internet value-added services grew by 89.9% year-over-year to RMB1.4 billion, primarily due to the strong growth in revenue from its fintech business and Youpin e-commerce platform.

Introduction to Xiaomi’s e-commerce platform Youpin

Xiaomi has been focusing on enriching its internet services and content to strengthen its advertising business. Many of its internet services are leading on its smartphones, its Mi App Store, Mi Browser, Mi Security, and Mi Music ranked 1st and Mi Video ranked 2nd in their respective categories in mainland China in terms of MAU on its smartphones in June 2019.

Furthermore, its news feed service ranked 1st in terms of MAU on its smartphones in mainland China, reaching 71.0 million MAU in June 2019, representing a year-over-year increase of 31.0%. Its search service also ranked 1st on its smartphones in mainland China in terms of search query volume in the second quarter of 2019.

Xiaomi developed various entry points for its search function, including browser, negative one screen, launcher searchbox, and its AI assistant. Leveraging its increasingly diversified services and
multi-dimensional data, Xiaomi is able to further improve its algorithm and enhance its users’ experience. Services like news feed and search allow Xiaomi to diversify its advertising customer base.

Internet service revenue outside of advertising and gaming from mainland China smartphones, including those generated from the Youpin e-commerce platform, fintech business, TV internet services and overseas internet services, increased by 108.8% over the corresponding quarter in 2018, accounting for 36.0% of the total internet service revenue in the second quarter of 2019.

For the six months ended June 30, 2019, the gross merchandise volume (“GMV”) of its Youpin e-commerce platform grew to RMB3.8 billion, an increase of 113.9% YoY. In June 2019, more than 65% of Youpin’s GMV came from non-Xiaomi smartphone users.

Revenue from its fintech business increased to RMB792.0 million in Q2 2019, representing year-over-year growth of 62.7%. Its current fintech business focuses on consumer loans and supply chain financing. With its sophisticated risk management model and technology capability, and extensive user base and supply chain partners, Xiaomi had a solid business foundation and potential to grow. In the meanwhile, Xiaomi is also actively exploring other fintech business opportunities.

Its TV internet services are also fast-growing and increasingly diversified. TV internet services revenue is mainly generated from advertising, paid subscription, and app distribution. In June 2019, Xiaomi had over 3 million paid subscribers, representing a year-over-year increase of 83.1%. Xiaomi offers a variety of membership services, including video membership, sports memberships, and children membership. Its subscription services have expanded to other non- Xiaomi TVs to serve a wider user base.

Xiaomi’s Overseas markets

With the overseas expansion of its smartphone business, its overseas internet service revenue also increased significantly. Xiaomi continued to build and strengthen its service offerings in overseas markets. In June 2019, its browser ranked 1st among all browsers in India in terms of MAU on its smartphones. In the second quarter of 2019, the average revenue per user (“ARPU”) in overseas markets recorded a year-over-year increase of 133.0%.

Xiaomi has maintained strong growth in the overseas markets in the second quarter of 2019. Its revenue from the overseas markets grew 33.1% year-over-year to RMB21.9 billion in the second quarter of 2019.

Xiaomi will continue to build and expand its new retail channels in the overseas markets. As of June 30, 2019, there were a total of 520 Mi Home stores overseas, representing a 92.6% year-over-year growth, of which 79 stores were located in India. Furthermore, in India, Xiaomi had more than 1,790 Mi Stores that cater to tier two and rural areas of India as of June 30, 2019.

According to Canalys, in the second quarter of 2019, Xiaomi ranked among the top five in over 40 countries and regions in terms of smartphone shipments. According to IDC, its smartphones have ranked 1st in India in terms of shipments for eight consecutive quarters. In addition, according to Canalys, in Q2 2019, Xiaomi ranked 4th in terms of smartphone shipments for Western Europe, representing a year-over-year increase of 53.2%.

Xiaomi ranked 2nd in open market channels in Spain in terms of smartphone shipments in Q2 2019. Xiaomi has been developing operator channels in Europe. Its flagship smartphones, such as Mi MIX 3 and Mi 9 series, have been launched in operator channels in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland.

AIoT

In Q2 2019, Xiaomi continued the implementation of its “Smartphone + AIoT” dual-engine strategy and its AIoT platform continued to maintain its leading position. As of June 30, 2019, the number of connected IoT devices (excluding smartphones and laptops) on its IoT platform reached approximately 196 million units, representing a year-over-year increase of 69.5%.

The number of users who have five or more devices connected to Xiaomi’s IoT platform (excluding smartphones and laptops) increased to approximate 3 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 78.7%. In the six months ended June 30, 2019, the shipments of its AI speakers exceeded 4 million units.

In June 2019, its AI assistant had 49.9 million MAU, making it one of the most used AI voice interactive platforms in China. In June 2019, 45% of its AI speaker MAU used voice control to interact with their IoT devices at least once that month.

Xiaomi continued to open up its AIoT platform to build a more vibrant AIoT ecosystem. Its Mi Home app had 30.4 million MAU in the second quarter of 2019 and more than half of the MAU in mainland China were from non-Xiaomi smartphone users. Xiaomi will continue to invest in the development of its open AIoT platform to attract more third parties and users to join this AIoT platform.

The Group’s AIoT Strategy committee will further enhance the development of its AIoT technology, by building a comprehensive AIoT ecosystem, strengthening its research and development, and realizing synergies across business units to improve its smart devices’ connectivity and user experiences.

For example, Xiaomi continues to develop technologies for files to be seamlessly transferred between its smartphones and laptops, as well as for intelligent projection to be enabled between its smartphones and smart TVs.

Xiaomi’s Investments

As of June 30, 2019, Xiaomi invested in a total of over 270 companies with an aggregated book value of RMB28.7 billion, representing year-over-year growth of 20.8%. Xiaomi also expanded its investment into supply chain companies to strengthen its partnership with key component suppliers and to enhance its abilities in advanced technology sourcing and manufacturing.

As of the date of this announcement, Xiaomi invested in 12 supply chain companies. Among those, three of the investee companies were listed on the STAR Market in China. Xiaomi believes its investments not only allowed Xiaomi to establish close partnerships with the investee companies but also provided Xiaomi with recurring investment income.

In the second quarter of 2019, Xiaomi generated net gains on disposal of investments (after tax) of RMB551.8 million.

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Pricing and practical features top factors for China smart device users’ purchase https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/29476/smart-device-study-2019/ Wed, 10 Jul 2019 00:00:14 +0000 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/?p=29476 Xiaomi Smart TV

Over the recent years, smart products appeared in many daily life scenarios, smart home living, including smart TV, vacuum robot, smart lock, and smart speakers, are expected to receive good market recognition in 2019.

In 2019, the price range of the smartphone that majority of China internet users purchase is between 2001 and 3000 yuan (US$291-436) as well as 3001 and 5000 yuan (US$436-727).

Out of the brands that online users consider on top of their minds, Huawei ranks the first. While Xiaomi and Apple take the second and the third place, Xiaomi is favored by male and Apple is favored by the female.

According to Tencent research by Penguin Intelligence, Huawei enjoys the highest loyalty, 62.2%. When replacing the smartphone, 69.4% of online users are expecting better battery performance; also, the core features such as operating system experience and hardware performance are priorities.

When making a purchase, more online users prefer online purchase to offline purchase (54.8% vs 45.2%). The percentage of males, younger customers who do not deny the idea of purchasing used phones are higher.

Regionally, Apple users in first-tier cities take the highest percentage, and user ratio of Xiaomi in tier-2 cities, Huawei in tier-3 cities are the highest. OPPO and Vivo’s user ratios are higher in lower-tier cities.

In 2019, 88.5% of online users plan to purchase at least one smart device of which smartphone accounts the most, with 66.7% of online users are thinking of buying one. Users’ purchase intention for other mobile devices such as smartwatches is 25.6% in term of penetration ratio.

Over the recent years, smart products appeared in many daily life scenarios, smart home living, including smart TV, vacuum robot, smart lock, and smart speakers, are expected to receive good market recognition in 2019.

When choosing smart devices, 80.2% online users prioritize the practical features while the price is an aspect that nearly sixty percent of online users will consider. Other than that, branding, convenience, technical features are considered by over forty percent of China online users.

Premium features as branding, technical features, and design are significantly less considered compared to practicality and price. online users’ purchase of smart devices is more rational in 2019, which can even be regarded as a sign of consumption downgrade.

Among the most expected smart products, security and vacuum products rank the first and the second respectively. Other than that, 56.5% of online users are looking forward to household products that can aromatically adjust the living environment.

For online users more willing to buy foreign smart products, 51.2% of them are considering smartphone and over thirty percent of them are considering foreign smart locks, vacuum robot, and smart TV.

When making a purchase of smart products, online users in the tier-1 cities are most willing to buy foreign products, accounting for 55.8%. In general, the difference in preference of foreign smart devices among online users of different cities is not significant.

Although the willingness of tier-4 and lower-tier cities online users for buying foreign smart products is the lowest, the percentage is still close to the half, reaching 48.5%.

Meanwhile, the younger the online users, the more recognition for foreign products, the percentage of post-00s who are more willing to buy foreign products is as high as 61%.

This is an excerpt from eBook Purchase Intention of Smart Device in China

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Introduction to Xiaomi’s e-commerce platform Youpin https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/27562/xiaomi-youpin/ Tue, 18 Jun 2019 03:00:23 +0000 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/?p=27562

Youpin is where Xiaomi's aspirations for extending the boundaries of its core business lies.  Its product categories have been extended from core products smartphone and TV to ecological chain companies - air purifier and self-balancing scooters kind of products. Now, it has become an independent quality e-commerce platform selling a variety of products including mattress and leisure wear. 
Xiaomi model
Hardware, new retail, and internet service are dubbed triathlon for Xiaomi. Specifically, new retail entails the online Xiaomi Mall, Xiaomi Youpin, and offline Xiaomi Home.

Youpin is just like the biggest outside circle of a funnel, which aims to pick the best SKU from the market for Xiaomi, according to Gao Ziguang, the vice president of Xiaomi ecological chain and general manager of Xiaomi Youpin.

Assuming there are 20 thousand SKU, Xiaomi will pick two thousand most suitable ones to Xiaomi Mall and introduce 200 of those to Xiaomi Home. Youpin is in charge of the long tai...

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Xiaomi performance highlights in Q1 2019 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/29331/xiaomi-q1-2019/ Tue, 21 May 2019 09:00:46 +0000 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/?p=29331

In the first quarter of 2019, Xiaomi recorded RMB43.8 billion in revenue, representing an increase of 27.2% over the corresponding period of 2018. Profit for Q1 2019 grew to RMB3.2 billion and Adjusted Net Profit grew 22.4% year-on-year to RMB2.1 billion.

Xiaomi continued to focus on their “Smartphone + AIoT” dual-engine strategy and greatly expanded the number of devices connected to its platform.

As of March 2019, monthly active users (“MAU”) of MIUI reached 260.9 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 37.3%. The number of connected IoT devices (excluding smartphones and laptops) on Xiaomi IoT platform has reached approximately 171.0 million units, representing year-on-year growth of 70.0%.

Xiaomi AI assistant “Xiao Ai Tongxue” had over 45.5 million MAU in March 2019, representing a year-on-year increase of 247.2%.

Xiaomi Smartphones

Xiaomi smartphone segment recorded approximately RMB27.0 billion in revenue in Q1 2019, representing an increase of 16.2% over the corresponding period of 2018. Its smartphone sales volume in Q1 2019 reached 27.9 million units.

According to Canalys, Xiaomi ranked 4th globally in terms of the volume of smartphone shipments during the Q1 2019.

In Q1 2019, Xiaomi released several smartphone models under each brand, including Mi 9, Mi 9 SE, Redmi Note 7, Redmi Note 7 Pro and Redmi 7. The market response was positive with regard to the respective product launches.

In particular, Redmi Note 7, which was released on January 10, 2019, and launched in overseas markets on February 28, 2019, was in high demand. The shipments of its Redmi Note 7 series exceeded 4 million units in Q1 2019.

In addition, its new flagship model Mi 9 series, which was released on February 20, 2019, and launched in overseas markets shortly thereafter, has also been very popular to date. The Mi 9 is powered by the Snapdragon 855 processor, equipped with an ultra-wide-angle AI triple camera with the main camera using a 48-megapixel Sony sensor, and has an all-curved holographic back design.

The Mi 9 is also the world’s first smartphone to feature 20W wireless quick charging. As of March 31, 2019, the supply of Mi 9 series smartphones surpassed 1.5 million units while the sales volume of Mi 9 series smartphones exceeded 1.5 million shortly thereafter in early April 2019.

Xiaomi’s smartphone market share in mainland China increased for three consecutive months throughout the first quarter of 2019, from 9.5% in January 2019 to 11.8% in March 2019.

Moreover, due to the continuous optimization of Xiaomi’s product portfolio, the average sales price (“ASP”) of its smartphones in mainland China and in overseas markets achieved year-on-year growth of 29.9% and 12.1%, respectively, in Q1 2019.

Xiaomi IoT and lifestyle products

During Q1 2019, the revenue of the IoT and lifestyle products segment rose by 56.5% to RMB12.0 billion over Q1 2018, maintaining a rapid growth rate.

Xiaomi’s smart TVs continued to lead the way, ranking 1st in terms of shipments for two consecutive quarters in mainland China. As of March 31, 2019, global shipments of Xiaomi’s smart TVs reached 2.6 million units, representing a nearly two-fold year-on-year growth of 99.8%.

Xiaomi has also recently launched a variety of large home appliances. In April 2019, it released Mi Mural TV, Mi LED TV 4 Pro and Mi Internet Vertical Air Conditioner C1, all of which have been perceived positively by the market.

Mi Mural TV is its first smart TV that uses far-field microphone technology, enabling users to activate voice control features even at a distance. Users can switch on their smart TVs, search for movies, check the weather, and control other smart home products without the need of a mic-enabled remote control.

Xiaomi’s smart TVs can also display smart device notifications and act as control hubs for compatible smart home products.

During Q1 2019, Xiaomi’s ecosystem products, such as Mi Band, Mi Air Purifier and Mi Electric Scooter, continued to enjoy wide popularity and achieved robust sales growth.

Xiaomi also launched a variety of other popular products this year, such as Mi Smart Door Lock, Mi Wireless Power Bank, Mi Photo Printer, Mi Wireless Car Charger, and Mi AirDots.

Xiaomi’s Redmi brand also launched various IoT and lifestyle products, such as Redmi AirDots. The designs of Xiaomi’s IoT products have continued to receive significant market recognition.

In Q1 2019, Xiaomi won 25 international design awards. For example, Xiaomi’s Mi Washing Machine was awarded the iF Design Award and Xiaomi’s Mi Smart Door Lock was awarded the Red Dot Award.

Xiaomi Internet Services

Revenue from Xiaomi’s internet services segment grew 31.8% year-on-year to RMB4.3 billion in Q1 2019. Advertising revenue grew 21.8% year-on-year to RMB2.3 billion.

Revenue from gaming grew 6.8% year-on-year to RMB823.1 million. Xiaomi’s other internet value-added services grew 96.4% year-on-year to RMB1.2 billion, primarily due to the rapid growth in revenue from Xiaomi’s internet finance business and Youpin e-commerce platform.

The MAU of MIUI rose 37.3% from 190.0 million in March 2018 to 260.9 million in March 2019. The MAU of MIUI in mainland China also achieved quarter-on-quarter growth. The MAU of Xiaomi’s smart TVs and Mi Boxes achieved 55.1% year-on-year growth, reaching 20.7 million in March 2019.

Xiaomi has continued to diversify Xiaomi’s internet services revenue. Internet services revenue outside of advertising and gaming from China smartphones, including those generated from TV internet services, overseas internet services, Youpin e-commerce, and internet finance business, accounted for 31.8% of the total internet services revenue in Q1 2019, representing year-on-year growth of 167.3%.

Xiaomi’s overseas internet services revenue grew rapidly as they continued to strengthen Xiaomi’s internet services in key markets. For example, we have been actively developing Xiaomi’s internet finance business in India and launched Mi Pay, a payment product, in India in March 2019.

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China saw 1.1 billion active mobile devices in 2018 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/28796/mobile-device-trend-2019/ Wed, 17 Apr 2019 03:00:46 +0000 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/?p=28796

The monthly active devices of mobile internet totaled 1,131 million in December 2018, a net increase of 46 million compared with 64 million in the prior year period. The growth has declined from 17.1% in January 2017 to 6.2% in January 2018 and then the lowest point of 4.2% in December 2018.

On average, each user consumed roughly 5.7 hours on mobile devices every day in December 2018, 62.9 minutes more than a year ago. Short video (33.1%) and instant messenger (18.6%) took up over half of the increased usage duration.

On average, WeChat users spent nearly 6 minutes more on it. Considering the strong user base of WeChat (over 750 million DAUs), it means an increase of around 75 million hours. Mini-Programs plays a vital role in attracting users.

Among WeChat Mini-Programs, those having over 5 million monthly active users have increased by 57.1% to 209, two-thirds of which were gaming, lifestyle services, and shopping mini-programs.

Users in low-tier citie...

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Internet economy overview 2019: China vs. the U.S. https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/28754/internet-economy-2019/ Thu, 11 Apr 2019 08:00:35 +0000 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/?p=28754

China's road to digital transformation is quite different from other markets as the consumer internet is driving the development of industrial internet, according to a report co-released by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Alibaba, and Baidu.

To a certain extent, Chinese consumers have led a highly digital daily life. 20% of households in first- and second-tier cities have turned their homes into a smart home. That was close to the average level in the U.S.  In addition, China captured 35% of smart speaker sales globally in Q2 2018, which was just 1% in Q3 2017.

The consumer internet has seen new business model innovations booming in recent years, such as the new retail coffee shop chain Luckin Coffee and unmanned stores.

On the contrary, the development of industrial internet still lags behind developed markets. For example, only 25% of manufacturers have been digitally transformed in China as of 2017, which was 46% in Germany and 54% in the U.S.

China needs to c...

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Xiaomi performance highlights for 2018; IoT connected devices grew by 193% https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/28668/xiaomi-q4-2018/ Thu, 21 Mar 2019 11:56:46 +0000 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/?p=28668

The number of connected devices (excluding smartphones and laptops) on Xiaomi’s IoT platform reached approximately 150.9 million units in 2018, a year-on-year increase of 193.2%. Xiaomi AI assistant Xiaoai had been installed and activated on more than 100 million smart devices as of December 31, 2018, and had over 38.8 million monthly active users in December 2018. 

Xiaomi recorded 174.9 billion yuan (US$26.04bn) in revenue for the year ended December 31, 2018, a year-on-year increase of 52.6%. Revenue from international markets grew 118.1% year-on-year to 70.0 billion yuan (US$10.42bn), accounting for 40.0% of the total.

  • 65.1% of revenues were from smartphones (US$16.94bn),  an increase of 41.3% year-on-year;
  • 25.1% of revenues were from IoT and lifestyle products (US$6.52bn), an increase of 86.9% year-on-year;
  • 9.1% of revenues were from internet services (US$2.38bn), an increase of 61.2% year-on-year.

For the fourth quarter of 2018, revenue increased by 26.5% to 44.4 billion yuan (US$6.61bn) on a year-on-year basis.

Revenue from the smartphones segment increased by 7.0% year-on-year to 25.1 billion yuan, driven by growth in the ASP of smartphones.

Revenue from IoT and lifestyle products segment increased by 75.4% year-on-year to 14.9 billion yuan, primarily due to the rapid growth in demand of smart TVs and several sought-after ecosystem products such as Mi Band, Mi Electric Scooter, and Mi Robot Vacuum Cleaner.

Revenue from internet services segment increased by 39.3% year-on-year to 4.0 billion yuan, primarily due to growth in the advertising business.

For the year ended December 31, 2018, Xiaomi’s gross profit increased by 46.4% to 22.2 billion yuan (US$3.31bn) from 15.2 billion yuan for the prior year. Overall, Xiaomi’s gross margin decreased from 13.2% to 12.7%.

  • The gross profit margin from the smartphones segment decreased from 8.8% to 6.2%.
  • The gross profit margin fromIoT and lifestyle products segment increased from 8.3% to 10.3%, mainly due to the improvement of gross margin in smart TVs.
  • The gross profit margin from internet services segment increased from 60.2% to 64.4% as the percentage of revenue from higher margin advertising business was larger.

For the fourth quarter of 2018, gross profit increased by 55.5% to 5.7 billion yuan. The overall gross margin increased from 10.4% to 12.7%.

  • The gross profit margin from the smartphones segment decreased from 7.3% to 6.1%.
  • The gross profit margin from IoT and lifestyle products segment increased from 3.6% to 10.6%.
  • The gross profit margin from internet services segment increased from 57.4% to 62.9%.

Smartphones

Smartphones segment generated approximately 113.8 billion yuan (US$16.94bn) in revenue, an increase of 41.3% year-on-year. Compared with the 4.1% year-on-year decline of shipments in the global smartphone market, according to IDC, Xiaomi smartphone sales volume reached 118.7 million units, an increase of 29.8% over the prior year period.

To strengthen its market position in the mid- to the high-end range smartphone market in mainland China, Xiaomi launched several flagship smartphones such as Mi 8 and Mi MIX 3, which enjoyed widespread popularity. The average selling price (ASP) of Xiaomi smartphones in mainland China increased by 17.0% year-on-year.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, the revenue generated by smartphones sold for 2,000 yuan or more accounted for 31.8% of the total revenue of the smartphones segment. As Xiaomi shipped increasingly more smartphones in developed markets, the ASP of smartphones in international markets also recorded a year-on-year 9.7% growth.

Xiaomi continued to focus on innovation with increasing investment in smartphone R&D and achieved great progress. Taking the smartphone camera as an example, the new flagship smartphone Mi 9, launched in February 2019, achieved a DxOMark score of 107 for its rear camera, ranking top three globally at the time of launch.

It also achieved a DxOMark score of 99 for the video category, which is the highest among all smartphones at the time of launch. Xiaomi is also one of the early movers in 5G, launching our first 5G smartphone, Mi MIX3 5G, at World Mobile Congress in February 2019.

China smartphone brand loyalty compared for Q4 2018: iPhone, Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi

IoT and lifestyle products

Revenue of the IoT and lifestyle products segment increased by 86.9% to 43.8 billion yuan (US$6.52bn) over the previous year. 2018 was the year when Xiaomi’s large home appliances emerged from a nascent vertical to a robust business unit. The global shipments of Xiaomi smart TVs were 8.4 million units, representing a 225.5% year-on-year growth. Xiaomi also entered the white goods market, launching the Mi Air Conditioner and the Mi Washing Machine in July and December 2018, respectively.

In addition to smart TVs and laptops, Xiaomi ecosystem products such as Mi Band, Mi Electric Scooter, and Mi Robot Vacuum Cleaner experienced robust sales growth. Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Cleaner ranked second in terms of shipments in mainland China in 2018. Xiaomi was ranked second in terms of wearables shipments across the world in the fourth quarter of 2018 according to IDC.

Xiaomi received 43 international industrial design awards in 2018, including iF Design Awards, Red Dot Awards, International Design Excellence Awards, Good Design Awards, and Design for Asia Awards. Two such accolades went to Mi Sphere Camera which was awarded the iF Gold Award and Mi Rearview Mirror which was awarded the Red Dot: Best of the Best award.

2018 marked the commencement of its overseas IoT business expansion. Xiaomi launched smart TVs in India in February 2018 and were ranked first in terms of online TV shipments in this market.

As of December 31, 2018, there were about 2.3 million users who own more than five Xiaomi IoT devices (excluding smartphones and laptops), representing a 16.2% quarter-on-quarter growth and a 109.5% year-on-year growth.

Related: Xiaomi sold 100 million power banks as of Jan 2019

Internet services

Revenue from internet services segment grew by 61.2% year-on-year to 16.0 billion yuan (US$2.38bn).

  • Advertising revenue grew by 79.9% year-on-year to 10.1 billion yuan.
  • Revenue from value-added internet services also grew 36.7% year-on-year to 5.9 billion yuan, of which revenue from gaming accounted for 2.7 billion yuan, a 7.3% year-on-year increase. Revenue from other internet value-added services grew 79.9% year-on-year to 3.2 billion yuan, primarily due to an increase in revenue contribution from internet finance business and Youpin e-commerce platform.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, over 30% of internet services revenue was from internet
services outside of advertising and gaming from China smartphones. Xiaomi overseas internet services revenue accounted for 6.3% of all internet services revenue in the fourth quarter of 2018, growing 1,295.6% year-on-year.

Xiaomi continued to enhance its overseas internet services and launched popular internet services in international markets.

For example, it launched video, app store, and news feed services in India and Indonesia. The MAU of Xiaomi smart TVs and Mi Box achieved 55.3% year-on-year growth, reaching 18.6 million in December 2018.

TV internet services revenue accounted for 8.2% of the total internet services revenue in the fourth quarter of 2018, a 119.1% year-on-year increase.

The revenue from internet finance business and the Youpin e-commerce platform accounted for 11.9% and 4.1% of total revenue of internet services in the fourth quarter of 2018, with year-on-year growth rates of 80.5% and 427.6%, respectively.

The MAU of MIUI increased 41.7% from 170.8 million in December 2017 to 242.1 million in December 2018. ARPU for internet services increased from 57.9 yuan for the year ended December 31, 2017, to 65.9 yuan for the year ended December 31, 2018.

International markets

Revenue from international markets grew 118.1% year-on-year to 70.0 billion yuan (US$10.42bn), accounting for 40.0% of the total, compared with 28.0% for the prior year.

According to Canalys, Xiaomi smartphones achieved the number one market share position by shipments for six consecutive quarters in India, with year-on-year growth of 59.6%. In Indonesia, Xiaomi was ranked second in terms of smartphone shipments, with year-on-year growth of 299.6%.

Xiaomi smartphone shipments for Western Europe grew 415.2% year-on-year and ranked fourth. Xiaomi IoT business also achieved good progress in its expansion in international markets.

Xiaomi Business Strategy update

AIoT

As of December 31, 2018, the number of connected IoT devices (excluding smartphones and laptops) on Xiaomi IoT platform reached approximately 150.9 million units, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 14.7% and a year-on-year increase of 193.2%.

Xiaomi is encouraging more third-parties to join its open IoT platform. In December 2018, Xiaomi entered into a strategic partnership with IKEA, under which IKEA’s full range of smart lighting products will be connected to Xiaomi IoT platform.

Xiaomi IoT user base is diversified across smartphone platforms. Xiaomi Mi Home app had 20.3 million MAU in December 2018 and over 50% of the users are from non-Xiaomi smartphones.

Through the empowerment of AI, Xiaomi greatly enhanced the user experience of IoT devices.

As of December 31, 2018, Xiaomi AI assistant Xiaoai had been installed and activated on more than 100 million smart devices and had more than 38.8 million MAU, making it one of the most used AI voice interactive platforms in mainland China. Xiaomi AI speakers have accumulated shipment of over 9 million units.

Multi-brand Strategy

Xiaomi adopted a multi-brand strategy for its smartphones in 2018. Xiaomi and Redmi have become independent brands since January 2019. The Xiaomi brand will focus on pioneering advanced technologies, establishing itself in the mid- to high-end markets, and building online and offline new retail channels.

The Redmi brand will pursue the final price-performance ratio and focus on online channels. Also, XIaomi Black Shark, Meitu, and POCO brands will target games users, female users, and tech enthusiasts, respectively.

Efficiency

As of December 31, 2018, Xiaomi had 586 Mi Homes in mainland China, mainly in first-, second- and third-tier cities. Moreover, to establish its offline new retail presence in lower-tier cities and rural areas of China, Xiaomi has built a sizable authorized store network. As of December 31, 2018, Xiaomi had 1,378 authorized stores in total, comparing to 62 as of December 31, 2017.

Quality

Xiaomi won the Top Prize of “China Quality Technical Award” awarded by the China Association for Quality. Xiaomi received further prestigious awards including the “2018 People’s Ingenuity Product Award” and the “2018 China Quality Benchmark Prize”.

Xiaomi’s mainland China smartphone fault feedback ratio decreased by 43.7% year-on-year. Xiaomi redefined the quality standards of smartphones by providing an 18-month long warranty for its Redmi Note 7 series, 50% higher than the industry standard.

Xiaomi officially launched the “smartphones + AIoT” dual-engine strategy in 2019. It expects to invest over 10.0 billion yuan (US$1.49bn) in the development in AIoT in the next five years.

Read moreChina’s smart speaker market insights

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Xiaomi sold 100 million power banks as of Jan 2019 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/28069/xiaomi-power-bank-2019/ Tue, 22 Jan 2019 00:00:15 +0000 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/?p=28069

Xiaomi claimed to reach 100 million units of Mi power banks sales as of January 8, 2019 since its 1st generation became available in 2013. Xiaomi also took the opportunity to launch the latest 3rd-generation Mi Power Bank with a 20,000 mAh capacity and an affordable price of 199 yuan (US$29.42).

The Mi Power Bank 20,000 mAh is capable of two-way 45W fast charging with its Type-C port, which can not only provide several times’ charging to phones or tablets but also a laptop with type C USB or Nintendo Switch game console.

In addition, it is able to offer 2 USB ports output (dual Type-A ports) simultaneously up to 15W at 5.1V/3.6A. One Type-A port can provide a maximum output of 18W at 5V/2.4A, 9V/2A or 12V/1.5A, which is also available for low power charging to devices like Bluetooth headsets and smart bands.

The three can work at the same time and provide a maximum output of 45W. It is able to charge the MIX 2S 4.3 times, an iPhone 8 7.3 times, or an iPad mini 4 2.5 times. Users can top up the power bank fully in 11 hours with a 10W charger or 4.5 hours with a 45W charger. It is small and light weight of 385 grams.

Xiaomi is planning to invest more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.46 billion) on AIoT (All in the Internet of Things) in the next five years, according to Securities Daily.

Also read: China smartphone market share & top 5 users profiles

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Consumer robot expected to reach US$1.6 billion sales in China in 2018 https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/24565/consumer-robot-2018/ https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/24565/consumer-robot-2018/#respond Thu, 07 Jun 2018 00:00:06 +0000 http://www.chinainternetwatch.com/?p=24565

Chinese consumers aged between 15 and 49 years have a stronger passion for high tech products than those aged over 50, according to a report from Gfk.

For 28% of consumers who aged between 15 and 19 years, having the latest household electronics is of equal importance as luxury cars or a second car. That greatly promotes the huge development of high tech products like Smart Speakers, Intelligent Service Robot, UAV, and Sweeper Robot, etc.

The retail sales of consumer-level robots are expected to exceed 10 billion yuan (US$1.56 bn) in 2018. Sweeper Robot market saw a 23% year-on-year growth in sales to 4.4 billion yuan in 2017.

Intelligent connection and navigation are two major functions of Sweeper Robot.

Smart Speaker market is gradually gaining popularity in China, which is expected to see a record-breaking growth of 256% in sales in 2018.

Consumer-level civilian UAV market continued its growth momentum since 2015. The sales of civilian ...

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