Xiaomi and Realme gear up to launch IoT products in India in 2020

• Xiaomi already has a wide range of IoT products in China, but so far, it has only launched a select few of those products in India. This is all set to change in 2020.
  
• Xiaomi’s competitor, Realme, is also planning to expand its portfolio in India next year.
  
• With Xiaomi planning to expand its portfolio and competition from Realme, the prices of smart home products could reduce further in India next year.
  

After competing aggressively in the smartphones space, Xiaomi and Realme are gearing up to take on each other with new Internet of Things (IoT) product launches in 2020. While Xiaomi has already launched a few IoT products in India, it says that it will launch “exciting and aggressive” new products in the near future.

In a statement to IANS, Xiaomi VP and Xiaomi India MD Manu Kumar Jain revealed his company’s plans to expand its portfolio of smart home products in India. He said, “We're excited to lead the IoT growth story in this country along with bringing the most cutting-edge smartphone technology. It's safe to say that the Indian market will continue to see exciting and disruptive products in the coming times.”

At the moment, Xiaomi has launched several smart home and internet-connected products in India like air purifiers, water purifiers, smart bulbs and more. Despite these launches, Xiaomi’s smart home products portfolio is much bigger in China. Thankfully for Xiaomi fans in India, this could change in 2020.

Realme to follow suit as well

Over the last year or so, Realme has emerged as one of the primary competitors of Xiaomi, especially in the budget and mid-range segments. Now, Realme CEO Madhav Sheth has revealed his company’s plans to venture into the smart home segment in India.

In a statement to IANS, he said Realme is “especially focusing on introducing IoT-based products in the coming year which will include audio and wearables.”

Realme has also announced its credit lending platform Paysa to take on Xiaomi’s Mi Credit service.

Looking beyond smartphones

With both Xiaomi and Realme aiming to launch new smart home and connected products in India, it is apparent that they are looking beyond just smartphones. This should also help in improving their profitability, especially since the smartphone industry in India has cut-throat competition and margins in the budget segment are especially thin.

Becoming tech-lifestyle brands also opens up a wide range of products for both Xiaomi and Realme. While Xiaomi already has plenty of experience and a large portfolio in this segment in China, it will be interesting to see Realme’s approach since it is a newbie in this regard.

Diversifying its portfolio of products should also help Xiaomi in avoiding the fate of Samsung and Nokia in India. Launching new smart home products should help Xiaomi in creating an ecosystem of connected products, allowing it to not only retain its existing users but also draw in new ones.

See also:

Here’s how you can avail an instant loan from Mi Credit

Smartphone makers Realme and Xiaomi will compete in the financial services market too