When it comes to revolutionary technology brands XXI Xiaomi has been a central company, with a company that started with smartphones now offering more than 200 categories of smart devices, from robot vacuum cleaners to electric vehicles. But who is behind this phenomenon? Who invented Xiaomi and turned it into a global giant with a turnover of tens of billions of dollars?
The answer lies in the story of one man, Lei Jun, an entrepreneur who, in 2010, assembled a team of 7 co-founders and launched a project that changed the electronics market. His approach of “high technology at affordable prices” became the company’s manifesto, and the phrase “Just for fans” became the motto for millions of fans of the brand. But how did an ordinary engineer challenge Apple and Samsung, and why is Xiaomi often called “China’s Apple”?
In this article, we will examine not only the founder’s biography, but also the key milestones in the company’s development: from the first Mi 1 smartphone to the release of the stock exchange and expansion to Europe. IPO, And we're also going to debunk the myths about Apple copying and show how Xiaomi became a stand-alone technology phenomenon.
Lei Jun: From Student to “Chinese Steve Jobs”
Lei Jun was born on December 16, 1969, in Hubei Province, to a family of teachers, and his journey to the technological peaks began not with programming but with... literature: in school, he was fond of classical novels and even dreamed of becoming a writer. In 1987, Lei entered Wuhan University in the Faculty of Computer Science, where he first encountered programming on computer science. BASIC Assembler.
His career took off in 1992 when 22-year-old Lei joined Kingsoft, one of the first Chinese companies to join the company. IT-In 16 years, he went from being a private engineer to being a private engineer. CEO, lead out IPO That's when he was compared to Steve Jobs: Ley, like Jobs, was a perfectionist, focused on design and was able to inspire the team, but in 2007 he suddenly left Kingsoft to... invest in the company.
- 🎓 1987-1992: Studying at Wuhan University, specialization - computer science.
- 💼 1992–2007: Working at Kingsoft, from Engineer to CEO.
- 💰 2007–2010: Investing in startups, including UCWeb (browser) UC Browser) and Vancl (online store).
- 📱 2010: Founding Xiaomi with initial capital $10 million.
Fun fact: Before Xiaomi was founded, Lei Jun studied Apple, not to copy it, but to understand how to build an ecosystem. He even attended a Stanford lecture analyzing Silicon Valley business models. His key idea, “Making high-tech products accessible to everyone,” became the foundation of Xiaomi’s philosophy.
2010: The birth of Xiaomi and the first smartphone Mi 1
Xiaomi’s official founding date is April 6, 2010, and Lei Jun has a team of 7 co-founders, including:
- 🔧 Lin Bin, Vice President of Google China, responsible for Android development.
- 🎨 Lou Weibin, Industrial Design Expert (previously at Motorola).
- 💻 Li Wangqiang – Operating Systems Specialist (Former Microsoft Employee).
- 📊 Hun Feng is a CFO who previously managed funds at Goldman Sachs.
The first product of the company was not a smartphone, but firmware MIUI — It was a custom shell for Android, released in August 2010, that offered unique features (like design themes and optimization for the Chinese market) and quickly gained popularity among enthusiasts. MIUI There were more than 500 thousand active users – this became the springboard for the release of the first smartphone.
In August 2011, Xiaomi introduced the Mi 1, a device with:
- 📱 4-inch-display (resolution) 854×480),
- 🔋 removable battery at 1930 mAh,
- 🚀 Qualcomm Snapdragon processor S3 (1.5 GHz),
- 💰 price $310 (2 times cheaper than competitors’ flagships).
The smartphone has sold out in circulation 300 thousands of copies in the first 7 And it's a record month for a Chinese startup, but the real boom has been in the middle of a decade. 2012 year-end 2, It was sold on a system of "flash-sells" (sales with limited quantities), then Xiaomi first entered the top.-5 Smartphone manufacturers in China, ahead of HTC Sony.
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MIUI It became a training ground for Xiaomi: the company learned to work with the community, collect feedback and quickly update the software – this helped with the release of the first smartphone.
Xiaomi’s philosophy: why the company became “China’s Apple”
Xiaomi's comparisons with Apple were not accidental, as Lei Jun deliberately positioned the brand as a "Chinese alternative" to Steve Jobs's company, but with a key difference: affordable prices. Here are the 3 pillars of Xiaomi's philosophy that made it unique:
- Model: Three Low and Three High»: ⬇️ Low prices (at the cost level), ⬇️ Low marketing costs (viral marketing), ⬇️ Low Distributor Extras (Online Sales). ⬆️ High quality, ⬆️ High-tech, ⬆️ High service.
Device ecosystem
Mi Home
Fan community
Example of the ecosystem: if you buy a smartphone Xiaomi 13 Pro, then you can connect to it:
- 🔋 Mi Power Bank (charging),
- 🎧 Mi True Wireless Earbuds (Earbuds),
- 🏠 Mi Smart Home Kit (Door/Window Sensors),
- 🚗 Mi Electric Scooter (Electric Scooter).
All of them are managed through one Mi Home app.
⚠️ Note: Despite the appearance of Apple (minimalistic design, presentations in the style of Jobs), Xiaomi has never copied the iPhone “one to one”. For example, in Mi 6 (2017) used the Snapdragon 835 processor, not Apple chip, and in Mi Mix (2016) the company was the first to introduce a frameless display – a year before the iPhone X.
Crises and triumphs: how Xiaomi survived the failure IPO
2014-2016 was a period of takeoff for Xiaomi: the company entered the markets of India, Brazil and Europe, and its valuation reached the highest level of growth. $45 billion But 2016 saw a slump: sales fell 36 percent, with Ley Jun admitting the company had "grew too fast:
- 📉 Xiaomi has released more than 20 smartphone models in a year, which confused buyers.
- 🌍 Failed expansion: Brazil faced high customs duties, Europe – with a low brand-aware.
- 🔄 Huawei, Oppo and Vivo copy ‘high tech at low prices’ model».
The turn to the offline saved the situation: Xiaomi opened its own Mi Home stores (the first in Beijing in 2016), where customers could “feel” products. By 2018, the chain had 300 stores and sales grew by 87%. IPO in Hong Kong (July 2018):
| Indicator. | Expectations | Reality. |
|---|---|---|
| Company valuation | $100 billion | $54 billion |
| Stock price | HK$21–24 | HK$17 |
| Amount of attraction | $10 billion dollars | $4.7 billion |
| Stocks fall after IPO | — | −80% for 6 months |
Causes of failure IPO:
- 📵 US-China trade war (Huawei sanctions scare investors).
- 📉 The fall of the smartphone market in China (−10% in 2018).
- 💸 Doubts about profitability: Xiaomi spent only 3-5% of its revenue on marketing (versus 10-15% for competitors).
But Lei Jun didn't give up, and he refocused the company on:
- 🌐 Global expansion: to 2020 Xiaomi is the year №1 in India and top-ranked-3 Europe.
- 🏠 Smart home: the share of revenue from IoT devices increased from 5% (2016) to 30% (2023).
- 🚗 Electric cars: in 2021 Xiaomi announced the entry into the market EV investment-wise $10 billion dollars.
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If you see a Xiaomi smartphone with a price tag “too good to be true”, check it for authenticity through the official Mi Verify app or by using the official Mi Verify app. IMEI site mi.com/global/verify. Counterfeiting is often sold under the guise of limited editions».
Xiaomi today: from smartphones to electric cars
For 2026, Xiaomi is:
- 📱 №3 in the world in smartphone sales (after Samsung and Apple, Counterpoint data).
- 🌍 Presence at 100+ countries including Russia, India, Spain and France.
- 💰 Revenue $45 billion (2023), of which 60% are from smartphones, 30% from IoT and accessories.
- 🚗 Launch of Xiaomi’s first electric car SU7 (March 2026) with autopilot and a range of 800 km.
Key innovations of recent years:
- 📸 200-megapixel camera in Xiaomi 13 Ultra (2023) with Leica optics.
- ⚡ 200 watt charging in Redmi Note 12 Turbo (100% in 12 minutes).
- 🖥️ Foldable smartphone Mix Fold 3 with 8-inch internal screen.
Xiaomi doesn’t make the device itself – it works on a model ODM/OEM (The company has partners such as Foxconn and BYD). This allows you to reduce costs and scale quickly. X3 Pro is assembled in the same factories as Google Pixel devices.
Why is Xiaomi updating its firmware so quickly?
Xiaomi myths: Does Apple copy?
One of the most persistent myths is that Xiaomi is copying Apple, and let's look at what's true and what's fiction.
| Prosecution | Reality. | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Xiaomi is copying the design of the iPhone | ❌ Partly true only for early models (Mi 1, Mi 2) since 2015 Xiaomi has been developing its own design (e.g., the Mix series with frameless screens). | Mi 8 (2018) with a “monobrov” vs. iPhone X (2017) – similar, but Xiaomi has added an infrared face scanner that Apple does not have. |
| Xiaomi’s presentations are a copy of Apple | ✅ Lei Jun did adopt Steve Jobs’s style of performances (black turtleneck, minimalist slides), but the content is always unique. | At the presentation of Mi Mix (2016) showed the first serial smartphone with a frameless display – a year before the iPhone X. |
| «MIUI — It's a copy of iOS» | ❌ MIUI It was launched in 2010, when iOS didn't have many features (like design themes or built-in antivirus). MIUI It is closer to Android than iOS. | Functions MIUI, which are not in iOS: dual applications, built-in recording recorder, mode for the elderly. |
Moreover, Xiaomi often outperforms Apple in innovation:
- 🔋 Fast charging: 200 watts in Redmi Note 12 vs. 20 watts in iPhone 15.
- 📸 Xiaomi 13 Ultra has a variable aperture (like in professional cameras), which is not in any iPhone.
- 🖥️ Foldable smartphones: Xiaomi released Mix Fold in 2021, and Apple still has not announced its foldable.
⚠️ Warning: If you see news like “Xiaomi stole technology from Apple,” check the source, often by competitors or unscrupulous media, such as in 2020, Samsung accused Xiaomi of copying the design of the Galaxy Note 10 in the Mi model. CC9 Pro, but court in China dismissed the lawsuit, finding the differences sufficient.
How Xiaomi Changed the Market: 5 Key Contributions
Xiaomi’s impact on the industry is hard to overstate, here are 5 ways the company has changed the game:
- Democratizing flagship technologies: Xiaomi was the first to install flagship processors (such as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2) in mid-range smartphones (Poco F series), which forced competitors to lower prices.
- Online sales: Before Xiaomi, smartphones in China were sold mostly through offline stores, and the company has proven that it is possible to successfully sell equipment online (today, 70% of Xiaomi’s sales are online).
- Smart Home Ecosystem: Xiaomi has created one of the first mass IoT platforms (Mi Home) where devices from different brands (e.g. Yeelight or Aqara) work together.
- Fan community as driving force: Xiaomi actively engages users in development (e.g. voting for new features in the game) MIUI). This has become the standard for many brands, including OnePlus and Realme.
- Startup Investment: Through Shunwei Capital, Lei Jun has invested in more than 300 companies, including UCWeb (browser) UC Browser, Zhihu (Chinese Quora) and Meituan (delivery service).
Example of influence: after the release of Xiaomi Mi Band (2014) at a price $13 competitors (Fitbit, Huawei) were forced to reduce the prices of fitness bracelets 2-3 times.
Check the package for a hologram with the Mi logo|Scanner. QR-code on the box (should lead to the official website)|IMEI on the label and in the settings should match|The price should not be below 70% of the recommended price on mi.com.-->