When the first Xiaomi came out: release date, features and value for the market

Xiaomi tech enthusiasts often wonder when the first smartphone that launched the brand’s global expansion came along? The answer to that question is not as simple as it seems. The company’s story begins long before the first gadget was released — with an ambitious idea to create affordable but technologically advanced electronics. However, the exact release date of the first Xiaomi smartphone is August 16, 2011. That’s when the world saw the Xiaomi Mi 1, a model that turned the idea of budget smartphones.

Now, with the brand at the forefront of the market, it's hard to imagine that in 2011, the company was a beginner and its first product was an experiment. But why was that the turning point? And what made the Mi 1 so special against competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S II or iPhone 4? Let's look at how one smartphone laid the foundation for the future tech giant.

It’s worth noting that the first Xiaomi wasn’t cheap – its 1999 yuan price tag (about $300 at the time) put it on par with other brands’ flagships – but it paid users for features that were previously only available in premium devices, and that was the key to success: a combination of high performance, high-quality software, and aggressive marketing strategies.

Interestingly, the release itself was in an unusual format, where Xiaomi instead of a traditional presentation, organized an online broadcast where founder Lei Jun personally demonstrated the capabilities of the device, an approach that became the brand’s hallmark of openness, interaction with fans and rejection of classic advertising campaigns.

The exact release date of the first Xiaomi: what official sources say

The official release date of Xiaomi Mi 1 is August 16, 2011, which is the day the first sales of the device began in China, but the history of the creation of the smartphone began much earlier: development was conducted in 2010, and the announcement took place on July 11, 2011 at a special event in Beijing.

The first 300,000 Mi 1s sold out in a record 34 hours, a success that surprised even the company and proved that the market was ready to offer an alternative to traditional brands, with sales exclusively through Xiaomi’s official website, another innovation for the time.

Here are the key milestones associated with the release of the brand’s first smartphone:

• 📅 April 2010 – Xiaomi company was founded by Lei Jun and six co-founders.
• 🛠️ 2010–2011 – Mi 1 development in collaboration with Qualcomm and other partners.
• 📢 July 11, 2011 – official announcement of Xiaomi Mi 1.
• 🛒 August 16, 2011 – start of sales (first batch – 300,000 units).
• 🌍 2012 – the beginning of the expansion outside China (Taiwan, Hong Kong).

It’s important to understand that the Mi 1 wasn’t Xiaomi’s first product in principle, and the year before, the company released MIUI firmware (August 2010), which became the basis for the future smartphone, and it was this software that became one of the main competitive advantages of the device – it offered a level of customization that is not available in standard Android.

Xiaomi Mi 1: Why it was ahead of time

When the Xiaomi Mi 1 was released, it was a big hit, and even today, more than a decade later, some of the features look impressive.

The Mi 1 was powered by a MIUI V4 based on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, but with deep customization.

• 🎨 Design themes – the ability to completely change the design of the system.
• 🔒 Advanced privacy settings – control permissions for applications.
• 📱 Optimization for one hand – convenient arrangement of controls.
• 🔄 Weekly updates – Xiaomi was one of the first to implement frequent software updates.

Critics noted that the Mi 1 was not perfect: for example, the screen had a mediocre color reproduction, and the body of glossy plastic quickly covered with scratches, but these shortcomings were more than compensated for by the price-performance ratio and innovative approach to interaction with users.

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If you’re looking for the first Xiaomi to make a collection, look for a version with 2GB of RAM – it was released in a limited edition in 2012.

How Xiaomi Changed the Smartphone Market

The Mi 1 has been the starting point for several key industry trends:

1. Direct sales via the Internet: Xiaomi has abandoned the traditional retail chain, selling devices exclusively online, which has reduced prices and speeded up the turnover of goods.
2. The fan community as a driving force.The company has actively engaged with users through forums and social media, taking their feedback into account when developing new devices.
3. Weekly updates to MIUI became the standard, which was later followed by other manufacturers.
4. Aggressive pricing: Xiaomi has proven that high tech can be affordable, which has forced rivals to rethink their strategies.

Experts often compare Xiaomi’s impact on the market to Apple’s change in the industry in 2007 with the release of the first iPhone. The scale is different, but the essence is similar: the brand offered a fundamentally new approach to creating and promoting smartphones. For example, Xiaomi was one of the first to use the “flash sales” model, where a limited number of devices are sold on reservations, which created a hype and avoided overproduction.

Interestingly, viral marketing also contributed to the Mi 1’s success, with Lei Jun, the company’s founder, personally testing prototypes and sharing his experiences on social media, which attracted media attention, and Xiaomi actively partnered with enthusiasts who created custom firmware and mods for the device.

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Xiaomi proved that Chinese brands can compete with global giants not only in price, but also in quality and innovation.

How much did the first Xiaomi cost and where to buy it today?

At the time of its release in 2011, the Xiaomi Mi 1 cost 1999 yuan (about $310 at the then exchange rate).

• 💰 iPhone 4 (16 GB) in China was worth ~$600.
• 💰 Samsung Galaxy S II — near $550.
• 💰 Budget Android smartphones — $150–250.

Thus, the Mi 1 occupied a niche between flagships and mid-budget devices, offering the characteristics of the former for the price of the latter.

Today, the original Xiaomi Mi 1 has become a rarity.

• 🛒 On eBay or AliExpress, prices vary. $50 $200 depending on the condition.
• 🏪 In collectible stores of equipment - sometimes come across devices in perfect condition with the original packaging.
• 🔄 At auctions in China (for example, Taobao) - there are more often lots with a guarantee of authenticity.

When buying, you should pay attention to several points:

⚠️ Attention! many of the “first Xiaomi” in the secondary market are fakes or replicas.The original device has a serial number on the case and in the firmware, which can be checked through official Xiaomi channels (although support for the model has long been discontinued).

The collector value of the Mi 1 is growing every year, for example, in 2021, at an auction in China, a device in factory packaging was sold for the equivalent of $500, almost 1.5 times the original price, especially copies with a branded box, documentation and accessories.

What happened next: Xiaomi’s evolution after Mi 1

The success of the Mi 1 was a springboard for Xiaomi, and in 2012 the company released the Xiaomi Mi 2, which corrected many of the shortcomings of the first model:

• ⚡ Snapdragon processor S4 Pro (1.5 GHz, quad-core).
• 📸 8 MP camera with improved optics.

But the real breakthrough was the Xiaomi Mi 3 (2013), which already competed with the flagships of Samsung and Apple in all respects, and in 2014 the company entered the international market, starting sales in India, Indonesia and other countries.

Xiaomi today is not just a smartphone, but an ecosystem of devices, from smart lights to robot vacuum cleaners.

⚠️ Attention! Many of Xiaomi’s current problems (such as overheating processors or unstable upgrades) go back to the first smartphone, and the company then relied on maximum performance at the expense of optimization, which sometimes manifests itself in new models.

Interestingly, Ley Jun has repeatedly admitted that if it were not for the success of the Mi 1, the company could not have survived. Competition in the Chinese market in 2011 was fierce, and a startup with no experience in electronics production had to prove its right to exist.

Myths and legends about the first Xiaomi

There are a lot of rumors and myths around Mi 1, and we'll take a look at the most popular ones.

1. "The first Xiaomi copied the iPhone." In fact, the Mi 1 was original, albeit inspired by Apple's minimalist style, with the main difference being the removable back cover and battery.
2. "Xiaomi sold the devices at a loss." That's not quite true. The company did set a minimum markup, but it saved on marketing and logistics by selling directly.

One of the most enduring myths is that Xiaomi hacked the market with cheap labor, and the secret to success was actually this:

• 🤝 Close cooperation with Qualcomm and other component suppliers.
• 📦 Optimization of the supply chain (for example, ordering components in small batches).
• 💬 Active community engagement (beta testers, forums, reviews).

Another legend says that the Mi 1 was a “losing project,” and in fact, according to Lei Jun, the margin was about 5%, which was a reasonable figure for a startup, and the main goal was not to make money on the first device, but to build a loyal user base.

FAQ: answers to frequent questions about the first Xiaomi