Xiaomi spins off Poco brand, to launch more premium phones in India

News Wireless Global 17 JAN 2020
Xiaomi spins off Poco brand, to launch more premium phones in India
Xiaomi said that Poco, the sub-brand it unveiled in the summer of 2018, is now an independent company, TechCrunch reported. Xiaomi VP Manu Kumar made the announcement, saying Poco had grown into its own identity and that it was right to let the secondary brand operate on its own. Xiaomi did not specifiy now Poco was spun off or how it would be structured. 

Xiaomi created Poco to launch high-end, premium smartphones that would compete directly with the flagship smartphones of OnePlus and Samsung. The company said in 2018 that it wanted to develop smartphones and other gadget categories. At the time, Xiaomi had 300 people working on Poco. 

The report said the move comes after a number of founding and core members left the brand, including former Google employee Jai Mani. Xiaomi noted that the Poco F1 smartphone, the only one out under the sub-brand, remains “successful,” launched in 50 markets at USD 300. It is not clear why no more smartphones were launched. Market watchers added however that Xiaomi, more known for its low and mid-range smartphones, has started putting out premium phones itself and may therefore no longer have a need for Poco. Aside from coming out last year with its Redmi K20 Pro, the company announced this week that it would be launching a number of premium Mi smartphones this year in India, its most important market.

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