What will happen to Xiaomi: forecasts for 2026-2026 and how it will affect users

The past two years have been a period of radical change for Xiaomi, from changing the logo and positioning to ambitious plans to enter the market of premium devices and electric vehicles. The company, which in 2020 was associated with most of the “Chinese smartphones for pennies”, today competes with Apple and Samsung in the segment of flagships, produces robot vacuum cleaners with AI and preparing to debut in the market of electric cars. But what awaits the brand in the next 12-24 months?

In this article, we will analyze the key trends of Xiaomi for 2026-2026, assess the risks for the company (including geopolitical and economic factors), analyze how the prices of devices will change, and give specific recommendations to owners of Xiaomi equipment. The basis of the article is data from company reports, interviews with top managers, patent applications and expert forecasts from Counterpoint Research analysts, IDC Bloomberg.

Spoiler: If you’re planning to buy a Xiaomi device soon, some sections of the article will help avoid mistakes.For example, in 2026, the company plans to completely abandon the charging units in the kit of the Redmi series smartphones and the newest ones. POCO, Even in the CIS countries, this is an official statement that many sellers still keep silent.

1. Xiaomi Strategy: From Price-Quality to the Premium Segment

Until 2022, Xiaomi confidently held the title of “king of budget smartphones”, but today the brand is actively refocusing on the premium segment.

• 📉 Falling margins on budget devices (from 12% in 2019 to 4-6% in 2023).
• 🏆 Competition with Realme, Infinix and Transsion, which have eaten up market share in Africa and Asia.
• 💰 Average check up 38% in the last 2 years (according to Counterpoint).

The main tool of this strategy is the Xiaomi 14 line (and the future Xiaomi 15), where prices start from 1,200$ (in China) and up to 1,800$ For comparison, the Xiaomi Mi 11 in 2021 cost 750$. But the key question is whether users are willing to pay premium money for a brand that was synonymous with the “cheap Chinese phone” just yesterday»?

According to a Bloomberg survey (2023), only 22% of buyers in Europe and 15% in Russia consider Xiaomi as an alternative to the iPhone or Galaxy S.

• 🛠️ Insufficient optimization MIUI (Lags, advertising in branded applications).
• 🔄 Low liquidity in the secondary market (smartphones Xiaomi lose in price by 40-50% per year, against 25-30% from Samsung).
• 🔋 Battery problems (Redmi Note 12 series has record number of battery bloating calls).

However, the company has a trump card:

• 🤖 Leadership in the Robot Vacuum Segment (38% of the Global Market in 2023).
• 🚗 Entering the electric car market (the first model of Xiaomi) SU7 expected in 2026).
• 🌍 Expansion to Latin America and Africa (sales growth of 67% over the past year).

2.New technologies: what Xiaomi is preparing for 2026

In 2026-2026, Xiaomi plans to introduce some revolutionary (according to the company) technologies, some of which have already been announced, some of which have leaked from patent databases.

Processors of own production

After a bad experience with the Surge chip S1 (2017) Xiaomi is back to the idea of its own processors. in 2026, expected to debut Surge C3 — mid-level chip architecture ARM Cortex-X4, which will be installed in the Redmi smartphones and POCO. According to preliminary data:

• ⚡ Performance at Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 level, but with better energy efficiency.
• 🔒 Full integration with MIUI (Less lag, faster updates).
• 💰 Price of devices with Surge C3 It will be 10-15% lower than its counterparts on Qualcomm.

However, there are risks: if the chip turns out to be “raw” (as it was with the Surge). S1), The reputational losses for the brand can be critical, especially since Qualcomm and MediaTek are not dozing: in 2026, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is expected to be released with support for 200-megapixel cameras and artificial intelligence on a chip.

Hypercharge and next generation batteries

Xiaomi has been leading the charger race for several years, with the company introducing a 210-watt charger for the Redmi Note 12 Turbo in 2023, and plans to launch a 300-watt charger in 2026 (full charge in 5 minutes).

• 🔥 Overheating: at this capacity, the battery temperature can reach 60°C, which shortens its service life.
• 🔋 Degradation: After 500 charging cycles, battery capacity drops by 30-40% (versus 15-20% for standard batteries).
• 💸 Replacement cost: the battery for the Redmi Note 12 Turbo costs 4,500–6,000 rubles (30% of the cost of the phone).

In 2026, Xiaomi promises to solve these problems due to graphene batteries (patent) № CN114356789A). According to the company, they will:

• ⚡ Charge in 3 minutes (up to 100%).
• 🔄 To withstand 1,500 cycles without loss of capacity.
• 🌡️ Heat no higher than 35.°C at maximum load.

However, experts IDC Doubts about the realisticity of these promises: mass production of graphene batteries is still an extremely expensive technology (the cost of one battery can exceed 10,000 rubles).

Foldable smartphones and flexible screens

In 2026, Xiaomi will finally release its first foldable smartphone – Xiaomi MIX Fold 3. According to leaked characteristics, it will receive:

• 🤖 Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor with liquid cooling.

But the main intrigue is the life of the hinge. competitors (Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, Huawei Mate) X3) This number ranges from 200,000 to 400,000 folds. Xiaomi promises 500,000 cycles, but independent tests have not yet been conducted.

In addition, in 2026, the company may introduce a smartphone with a retractable screen (patent) № CN115012345B), So the display will leave the case, increasing the area from 6.5 to 8.5 inches. So far, it looks futuristic, but the risks of failure are very high.

Geopolitics and Sanctions: Threats to Xiaomi in 2026–2026

One of the biggest challenges for Xiaomi is the geopolitical environment, which has been targeted by regulators in several countries:

• 🇺🇸 In 2023, Xiaomi was blacklisted by the Pentagon as a company linked to the Chinese military, which means a ban on the supply of American technology (for example, Qualcomm chips or equipment for the production of processors).
• 🇪🇺 Europe: European Commission accuses Xiaomi of unfair competition (dumping prices for robot vacuum cleaners), possible fines up to 10% of annual turnover.
• 🇮🇳 India: Xiaomi’s services (including Mi Cloud) blocked due to “national security threat».

What does this mean for users?

• 📵 Update issues: Xiaomi smartphones may lose Google Play Services support in some regions (as happened with Huawei in 2019).
• 💸 If Xiaomi has to switch to Chinese chips (for example, HiSilicon), the cost of devices will increase by 20-30%.
• 🔒 Account Blocking: Users from “unfriendly” countries (including Russia) may lose access to Mi Account and cloud data.

According to Reuters, Xiaomi is already developing a plan B.

• 🛠️ Own ecosystem (analogue of Huawei Mobile Services) for markets where Google is blocked.
• 🔄 Localization of production in India, Brazil and Mexico (to bypass customs barriers).
• 💳 Own payment system (already being tested in China under the name Mi Pay Global).

💡

If you use a Xiaomi smartphone and are worried about blocking services, back up your data via Settings. → The phone. → Backup: Save the file to an external drive or to a cloud that is not associated with Mi Account (e.g. Google Drive or Yandex Disk).

Prices for Xiaomi devices: what to expect in 2026-2026

Pricing has always been one of the main reasons for the brand’s popularity, but in 2026, the company announced a 15-25% price increase on most devices.

• 💰 Inflation and rising cost of components (e.g. memory) LPDDR5X It's up 40 percent in a year).
• 🏭 Transfer of production from China to Vietnam and India (workers’ wages are 30 percent higher%).
• 📦 Logistics: the cost of shipping containers from Asia to Europe has increased 2.5 times since 2020.

The table below is a price forecast for key Xiaomi devices in 2026-2026 (for Russia and the CIS):

But there is good news: Xiaomi plans to reduce the cost of some models due to:

• 🔋 Refusal of charging units in the kit (savings) ~500-800 rubles on the device).
• 📦 Recycled cardboard packaging (reduced logistics costs).
• 🤖 Artificial intelligence in manufacturing (reduced marriage by 15%).

💡

If you’re planning to buy a Xiaomi device in 2026, the best time is the first quarter (January-March), during which time companies are dumping the remains of last year’s models, and new lines are not yet in time to rise in price.

5. Support and updates: how long will your Xiaomi smartphone last

One of the main questions Xiaomi owners ask is: how long will the company support their device? In 2023, Xiaomi officially announced a new update policy:

• 📱 Flagships (Xiaomi) 13/14/15, MIX Fold) — 4 year of major updates + 1 year of security fixes.
• 📲 Mid-segment (Redmi Note) 12/13, POCO X5/X6) — 3 renewal.
• 💰 Budget models (Redmi) A2, POCO C55) — 2 years (critical corrections only).

For comparison, Samsung promises 4 years of updates even for the budget Galaxy A, and Google – 5 years for the Pixel.

Another problem is the slow spread of updates, for example, Android 14 for Xiaomi 13 in Russia was released only in December 2023 (3 months after release).

• 🌍 Localization for different regions (including local services adaptation).
• 🛠️ Compatibility testing with MIUI (frequent bugs in the first builds).
• 🔒 Censorship: In China, India and Russia, some features (like Google Discover) are disabled at the request of the authorities.

To check how many updates your device has left, go to Settings. → The phone. → Updating the system → Update policy: If your model doesn't fall under the new policy, you don't need to count on long-term support.

Make sure the battery is charged > 50%|Connect to Wi-Fi (update weighs 2-4 GB)|Make a backup copy in Settings → Additionally. → Backup|Close all background applications|Do not interrupt the process (may lead to a brick)-->

6 Repairs and parts: Will Xiaomi become the "new Apple"?

In the pursuit of premium, Xiaomi is beginning to copy Apple’s worst practices: making repairs more difficult and inflating parts prices.

Xiaomi also implements software locks on non-original parts, such as after changing the screen in an unofficial service can:

• 📵 Stop working on Always-On Display.

To avoid problems, follow the recommendations:

• 🛠️ Official service centers: list on the site mi.com/ru/service/center.
• 🔧 Self-repair: possible but requires a reset of the Mi Account (instruction below).
• 💰 Insurance: make out when buying (cost - 3-5% of the price of the phone, covers 80% of breakdowns).

If you still decide to repair yourself, here is a list of reliable suppliers of spare parts (according to user reviews):

• 🛒 ETrade Supply – Original screens and batteries.
• 🛒 iFixit – tools and accessories.
• 🛒 AliExpress (sellers with a rating) > 98%) – budget analogues.

💡

Before buying a spare part, check its compatibility with the IMEI To do this, enter the code *#06# in the search box on the seller's website (will appear on the screen).

7. Xiaomi vs competitors: who will win the race in 2026

In 2026-2026, Xiaomi will have to compete not only with traditional players (Samsung, Apple), but also with aggressively growing Chinese brands (Realme, Oppo, Vivo).

Smartphones: premium vs budget

In the premium segment (from 100 000 rubles) Xiaomi competes with:

• 🍎 iPhone 15/16: The main advantage is the ecosystem and long-term support.

In the budget segment (up to 30 000 rubles) the main competitors are:

• 📲 Realme 11 Pro+: More aggressive pricing and faster charging.

According to Counterpoint Research, Xiaomi could lose up to 15% of its market share in the budget segment in 2026 due to the onslaught of Realme and Transsion (Tecno, Infinix brands), while in the premium segment, the company plans to double sales from 5 to 10 million devices per year.

7.2.Smart Home and IoT

Xiaomi is the undisputed leader: according to the data IDC, The brand accounts for 28 percent of the global smart device market (2023:

• 💰 Prices: 2-3 times lower than Apple HomeKit or Samsung SmartThings.
• 🤖 Artificial intelligence: Mi is expected to be released in 2026 AI Speaker