Xiaomi hastens flagship phone release to take on iPhone 17

Sign up now: Get STs newsletters delivered to your inbox

Xiaomi’s shares rose 1.9 per cent in Hong Kong on Sept 15, boosted in part by a rally in Chinese electric automakers and suppliers.

PHOTO: REUTERS

Xiaomi Corp will release its next flagship smartphone in September and update its branding in a measure to go head-to-head with Apple Inc for a share of the premium smartphone market.

The Beijing-based company is moving up its usual launch timeline and jumping directly from the Xiaomi 15 generation to the new 17 series, matching Apple’s iPhone nomenclature with new Xiaomi 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max models incoming.

Co-founder and chief executive officer Lei Jun said on Sept 15 that his company wants to be measured against Apple’s smartphones, long considered the standard bearers at the high end of the market.

Xiaomi’s shares rose 1.9 per cent in Hong Kong on Sept 15, boosted in part by a rally in Chinese electric automakers and suppliers.

Apple’s iPhone 17 goes on sale globally this Sept 19, with the new Pro editions bringing a refreshed design.

The Cupertino, California-based company controls 62 per cent of sales in the premium segment – handsets priced at US$600 (S$770) and above – according to Counterpoint Research data.

Xiaomi has only a sliver of that segment globally, though it grew such sales by 55 per cent in the first half of 2025 and stands a better chance to compete domestically in China, where Apple’s iPhone Air has been delayed.

“We started our premiumisation strategy five years ago to learn from our greatest competitor, benchmarking