What phone does the head of Xiaomi: the choice of Lei Jun

In the tech world, there is a lot of questioning about what gadgets the makers of these devices use. Xiaomi fans are particularly interested in knowing what the founder of the company, Lei Jun, has in his pocket. He is often called “China’s Steve Jobs,” and his choice of technology has a direct impact on marketing strategy and the development of the Mi Home ecosystem. Many users are looking for an answer to the question of what phone the head of Xiaomi uses to understand what features he considers to be a priority.

Lei Jun is known for his social media activity, where he regularly shares photos taken on his devices, analyzing his publications and public appearances to give a clear picture of his preferences, not just testing new products, but actively participating in their development, often using prototypes long before they reach the mass market, which makes his choice especially valuable for those who follow the trends of the mobile industry.

In this article, we will take a closer look at the evolution of smartphones in the hands of the founder of the corporation, from early models to flagships from 2026-2026.You will learn about his attitude to the Android operating system and the HyperOS shell, and why he rarely uses devices of competitors. Understanding these nuances will help you better navigate the huge range of the brand and choose a device that would be approved by the creator of the company.

The evolution of choice: from Mi 1 to modern flagships

Lei Jun’s history of using his own smartphones began in the company’s early years, when he showed off the Mi 1 and Mi 2, emphasizing their availability and functionality. It was crucial for him to show that he personally used the product he offered to customers, creating a unique level of trust between the brand and consumers that still persists.

With the Mi Note and Mi Mix series, priorities shifted toward design and innovation, and Lei Jun often appeared in presentations with these models, demonstrating frameless displays and ceramic cases, personally testing material strength and ergonomics, making changes to the design early in production, an approach that addressed critical flaws before mass sales.

In recent years, the founder has moved to the top-end Xiaomi 13, Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 15 models, which feature the best Leica cameras, which is in line with his passion for mobile photography. He often posts pictures taken on his phone to showcase the nighttime and zooming capabilities, which is the best publicity for the company’s engineering achievements in image processing.

Interestingly, Lei Jun doesn't just change phones to schedule new products; he can use prototypes with unique features that aren't yet available to the public. For example, before the announcement of ultrafast charging technology, he spent weeks testing prototypes of power supplies, which allows him to personally assess the impact of new technologies on everyday user experience.

The current main smartphone of the founder of Xiaomi

Lei Jun’s main device is the latest flagship of Xiaomi’s Ultra lineup, which is typically the model with the highest specs available in the market in 2026-2026, and prefers devices with large displays and advanced cooling systems, as he uses the phone for graphics and demonstrations.

The head of the company focuses on the camera, his current phone is equipped with an inch sensor and variable focal length, which allows you to take professional pictures without additional equipment. He often mentions in interviews that mobile photography has become his main tool of creativity. The quality of shots from his phone often becomes the benchmark for marketing materials of the brand.

⚠️ Attention: Lei Jun often uses engineering versions of firmware that can be unstable for regular users.Do not attempt to install beta versions of HyperOS on the main device without a backup.

And his smartphone always has the maximum amount of internal memory, often 1 TB or more, to store a huge amount of photos and videos in their original quality, and to test the system with a filled storage, he personally checks how fast the file manager and gallery works with thousands of files.

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Pay attention to the color of the body of the founder’s phone – often this exclusive shade later becomes popular among fans of the brand.

Another important aspect is that Lei Jun uses his devices in maximum load mode, and he spares no battery and processor to run heavy apps and games to check the stability of work, which helps to identify problems with overheating or optimization that may not be noticeable during normal use, such an approach of "eating your own dog food" (dogfooding) is the standard in the company.

Features of configuration and software

The software part of Lei Jun's smartphone also deserves special attention, as it has the latest version of the HyperOS operating system (or MIUI in earlier models), often with unique patches. These patches can include hidden features that will appear in the global version only a few months later, and he is actively testing new algorithms for working with memory and multitasking.

You can see minimalism in the interface settings, Lei Jun prefers standard widgets and no extra decorations on the desktop, and he wants the phone to be an effective work tool, not just a toy, but he often experiments with new design themes to understand the preferences of different user groups.

One of the key features is deep integration with the AIoT ecosystem. Lei Jun's phone acts as a remote control for the smart home, Xiaomi SU7 and other gadgets. It checks the speed of the device response and the stability of the connection. If a feature is slow, it is perfected by engineers.

Also worth noting is the use of Mi Cloud cloud services to synchronize data, which allows it to seamlessly switch between a phone, tablet and laptop. Business processes require instant access to documents and mail, so synchronization reliability is a critical parameter. He personally makes sure that delays in file transfers are minimal.

Comparison of models: what is in the arsenal of the leader

Although the main phone is the flagship, Lei Jun always has several spare devices from different years of release, which is necessary to test the compatibility of new applications and services with old hardware, he understands that not all users can afford the latest model, and tries to optimize the software for a wide range of devices.

Below is a table showing the likely distribution of models in the founder's use over different periods and for different tasks:

The presence of foldable devices, such as the Mix Fold series, is also likely. Lei Jun has repeatedly expressed interest in the form factor of "books" for working with documents and presentations. He can use such devices during business meetings or trips where a large screen in a compact case is important. This shows the flexibility of the company's approach to form factors.

It's important to understand that having multiple devices doesn't mean it's constantly switching between them. The main device stays the same for a long time to identify all possible bugs. The phone changes only when the current one is completely exhausted or a fundamentally new technology comes out that requires verification.

The impact of founder choice on the smartphone market

When Lei Jun announces that he is using a particular model, it instantly affects sales, and fans of the brand are eager to buy the phone that the leader has in his pocket, and it creates a powerful marketing effect that is hard to overstate.

And his quality requirements dictate standards for the entire industry, and if he doesn't like the roughness of the hull or the lag in the interface, the engineers work until the problem is solved, and that raises the bar for all of the company's products, and the competitors have to respond to those changes by improving their products.

⚠️ Warning: Do not blindly copy the settings of Lei Jun's smartphone. Some features may not be available in global firmware versions or require specific regional conditions.

His choices also influence the development of accessories, where if he starts to use a particular headphone or power bank, demand increases dramatically, which helps the company bring related products to market faster and develop the ecosystem, and the success of accessories often depends on how well they are integrated with the main phone.

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Lei Jun’s personal choice is not just a preference, but a strategic tool for quality management and marketing of Xiaomi.

In conclusion, Lei Jun remains one of the most active CEOs in the tech sector, and his involvement in the product process creates a unique atmosphere in the company, where employees see that the boss personally faces the same challenges as ordinary users, and this motivates them to work better.

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