The Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi seems to be coming up with a new strategy for the Indian market. Reportedly, the company is reportedly working on teaming up with Google India to launch its next Android One smartphone.
For those not in the know, Google had initially launched the Android One smartphones back in 2014 with an aim to bring stock Android UI and prompt software updates to budget smartphones in developing markets. The OS made its entry in India later in the same year with smartphones from local manufacturers such as Karbonn, Spice, and Micromax. It eventually expanded to Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia, among others.
So far, Xiaomi has not yet partnered with Google for the Android One phones but now, things seem to be taking a different turn for the Chinese smartphone maker. A new report by an Indonesian website, Krispitech, suggests that a Xiaomi smartphone with stock Android UI, instead of the company’s customary MIUI, is in the making. Under its current range of Redmi devices, Xiaomi makes fully customized MIUI software from the Android OS source code.
According to the same Krispitech report, Google has dabbled into designing, marketing, developing, and providing support in both software and hardware, all by itself, and then collaborates with the local smartphone makers to assist them in the manufacturing process.
This upcoming device from Xiaomi is rumoured to be dubbed as Xiaomi A1 or Xiaomi Tissot and will be taking its cues from the Xiaomi Mi 5X in terms of design. The handset is expected to come with a 5.5-inch display with a Full-HD resolution of Full-HD 1920 x 1080 pixels. Under the hood, the device might pack in a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor and support dual-SIM compatibility.
Read More: Xiaomi Mi 6 or Xiaomi Mi 5X : Which Dual-Camera Smartphone Should Come to India?
Having said all that, the question still remains if the alleged phone will come to India as the report states that it will be introduced only in the Indonesian markets for now. Given that India too is a developing market with a penchant for budget and mid-range smartphones, it is only fair to expect the phone to be launched here as well.
In other news, Xiaomi is set to launch its first dual-camera smartphone in India in the month of September. There have been speculations that this upcoming dual-camera phone could either be Xiaomi’s Mi 5X or the Mi 6.
