The question of what kind of company Xiaomi is is is one that many users are just planning to buy their first device from that manufacturer or trying to understand the intricate structure of the brand. At first glance, it may seem that this is just a Chinese factory mass-producing budget smartphones, but the real picture is much deeper and more complex: it is a global technology corporation that in a short time has gone from a startup to one of the leaders of the global electronics market.
Many people confuse Xiaomi with the usual one. OEM-It's a manufacturer that builds devices from other people's components, but it's not really, and it has the most powerful research centers, and it develops its own processors, cameras and software. Understanding which company is behind the logo helps to better navigate their product line and understand why devices of different series can radically differ in quality and functionality.
In this article, we will explore the history of the company, its owners, and answer the most common questions about the relationship between the sub-brands Redmi and Poco. You will learn why the main income of the company is often not the sale of smartphones, but Internet services and ecosystem goods, which is a unique business model in the industry.
The history of the creation and founders of the brand
The company was founded in 2010, when a group of seven engineers led by Lei Jun decided to create a smartphone that would combine advanced technology and an affordable price. IT-The idea was to sell the devices at almost cost, making money from software services and accessories.
The first product was not hardware, but an Android-based MIUI operating system, whose philosophy was to update the firmware weekly to reflect feedback from users on the forum, an approach that created a loyal community of fans who later became the first smartphone buyers, and the company did not have its own factories and used contract manufacturing to flexibly scale.
⚠️ Note: The company’s 2010 founding date is not to be confused with the 2011 release date of its first smartphone, and it was the software that built the hardware empire.
The rapid growth came after the successful launch of flagship models that were two to three times cheaper than market leaders, selling devices exclusively online, saving distributors and retailers. Today, Xiaomi Corporation is a publicly traded company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The structure of the holding: Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco
One of the most common questions that confuses new users is, “If I bought Redmi, is it Xiaomi anyway?” The answer lies in the corporate structure. Initially, Redmi was just a line of budget smartphones within the Xiaomi brand. However, in 2019, the strategic decision was made to single out Redmi as a separate independent brand, which allowed the main Xiaomi brand to move into the premium segment without fear of blurring the image of the “state-sector”.
The Poco brand, which came out later, is also part of the ecosystem, but is marketed as a brand for enthusiasts and gamers, offering maximum performance for minimal money. In fact, all of these brands are owned by the same parent company, share common production facilities, patents and often even the same components, but have different development teams and marketing strategies.
Why are Xiaomi and Redmi interfaces different?
The division of brands allowed to cover all price niches:
- 📱 Xiaomi – flagship models, experimental technologies, premium materials (the Mi series, now renamed into a digital series, for example, Xiaomi 13, 14).
- 🔴 Redmi – mass market, price-quality balance, popular Note series and digital line.
- 🚀 Poco – a sub-brand focused on online sales and high performance (series F, X, M).
So when you ask which firm made your phone, the best way to say it is a Xiaomi holding company, even if the Redmi logo is on the back cover, it's a single organism with different "faces" for different types of customers.
The smart home ecosystem
What many don’t know is that Xiaomi is one of the world’s largest smart home device makers, and its strategy is to invest in dozens of startups that build specialized machines, from robot vacuum cleaners and air purifiers to electric toothbrushes and smart kettles, all of which are networked through the Mi Home app (or Xiaomi Home).
The devices in the ecosystem often have the Mijia logo or simply the words “Designed by Xiaomi” which means that the product is created by a partner company according to the quality and design standards set by Xiaomi, and when you buy one, you get a guarantee of compatibility with voice assent and the ability to create complex automation scenarios.
List of popular categories of ecosystem devices:
- 🧹 Robot vacuum cleaners (brands Roborock, Dreame, Viomi).
- 💡 Smart lighting (lamps, tapes, Yeelight switches).
- 🚴 Electric transport (Ninebot scooters, electric bicycles).
- 📹 Security cameras and smart doorbells.
- 🌡️ Temperature, humidity and motion sensors.
💡
When buying ecosystem devices, pay attention to the version region (Global, CN, EU). Devices designed for the Chinese market may require the installation of China region in the Mi Home app, which sometimes limits functionality.
Integrating all of these devices into a single platform allows you to create complex scenarios, such as when you open a smart door, you can turn on the lights in the hallway, and a robot vacuum cleaner can go to the base if it's stuck, which turns your smartphone into a universal remote control of the whole house.
Software: MIUI and HyperOS
You can't talk about a company without mentioning its shell software. For a long time, the hallmark was MIUI, one of the deepest Android customizations in the world, and it offered features that weren't in pure Android long before they were introduced in the basic version of the system. But over time, the shell became overgrown with heavy elements and advertising in budget models.
In response to user demands and to unify experiences across devices (including cars and appliances), the company has begun the transition to a new operating system, HyperOS. This is an evolution of MIUI, which is based on a lighter kernel and provides better connectivity between gadgets. The transition marks a paradigm shift: from just a smartphone to the center of management of the entire digital life of the user.
Comparison of key aspects of software:
| Characteristics | MIUI (Classic) | HyperOS (New) |
|---|---|---|
| Basis | Android + Deep Code Change | Android + Linux (for IoT devices) |
| Weight of system | More demanding, demanding resources | Optimized, takes up less space |
| Device communication | Through the cloud and Wi-Fi | HyperConnect (Low Latency) |
| Design | Traditional for Xiaomi | New animations, fonts and widgets |
Users often argue about which version is better, but the fact remains that the company is actively investing in software to move away from the image of the manufacturer of “just hardware.” Regular security and functionality updates are something that the brand is valued by millions of people around the world.
☑️ What to look for when choosing a Xiaomi smartphone
Where Xiaomi devices are manufactured
Geography is often controversial, with China historically the main production site, partner plants like Foxconn and its own assembly lines, but the company has been expanding overseas to reduce logistics and customs costs.
A special place is occupied by a factory in India, which is one of the largest in the world, where smartphones sold in the Indian market are assembled, and there are assembly lines in Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil and even France (assembly of some models for the European market), which allows you to label the devices as "Made in India" or "Made in France", although technology and quality control remain Chinese.
⚠️ Warning: The assembly country indicated on the box is not a quality indicator (QC) The same for all plants, regardless of their geographical location, the differences can only be in the configuration (availability of a charging unit, type of fork).
The Russian market is most often supplied with devices assembled in China or India, and it is important to understand that the “Chinese assembly” in the context of Xiaomi is not a sign of poor quality, but a sign of originality, since the main R&D centers and production lines for the most complex components are located in China.
Financial position and ratings
Xiaomi is on the Fortune Global 500 list, confirming its status as one of the world’s largest companies. Unlike many competitors who rely only on Hardware, Xiaomi’s business model is built on an iron triangle: smartphones, smart IoT and Internet services. The company artificially limits the margin of smartphones (no more than 5-10% of net profit), offsetting this with revenues from in-system advertising, games, cloud storage and accessories sales.
This strategy keeps prices extremely competitive, with investors and analysts appreciating the ecosystem’s potential, as the user who buys the phone is likely to buy both headphones, watches and an air purifier of the same brand, creating a “gold cage” effect that the customer doesn’t want to leave.
💡
Xiaomi is a technology conglomerate that makes money not so much from selling phones as from the ecosystem and services, which allows you to keep the prices of devices at a minimum.
Today, the brand occupies positions in the top-3 Global smartphone makers, regularly overtaking giants like Apple and Samsung in the number of devices sold in certain price segments.Financial resilience allows the company to invest billions of dollars in the development of electric vehicles and artificial intelligence.