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Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi unveiled its first flip phone on Friday, along with a portable printer that allows users to print pictures instantly. This launch also included an upgraded version of its foldable phone.
Xiaomi Mix Flip and Portable Printer
Xiaomi’s new flip phone, the Mix Flip, is priced at 5,999 yuan ($825). Preorders began on Friday, with deliveries starting on Tuesday. The portable printer, sold separately for 499 yuan ($68), includes photo paper, making it easy to print pictures on the go.
The company also introduced the Mix Fold 4, the latest version of its folding phone, which retains the previous version’s price of 8,999 yuan. Xiaomi founder Lei Jun highlighted the Mix Fold 4’s ability to handle simultaneous translation, displaying one language on each side of the screen. However, he did not emphasize the device’s artificial intelligence capabilities. Lei warned that the portable printer’s supplies were limited.
Expansion into Electric Vehicles
In addition to its smartphone ventures, Xiaomi has ventured into the electric vehicle market. The company launched its first electric car, the SU7 sedan, in late March, priced competitively against Tesla’s Model 3. As of Friday, Lei announced that cumulative deliveries had exceeded 30,000 vehicles, with a target of 100,000 cars by November, a month earlier than previously projected. To meet this demand, Xiaomi’s factory in southern Beijing has doubled its shifts to 16 hours a day, employing about 2,000 human workers and 700 robots.
Lei shared that the SU7 would receive updates in August to enable voice control from outside the vehicle. He spent the first part of the three-hour product event delivering his fifth annual speech, reflecting on how U.S. sanctions in January 2021 prompted Xiaomi to consider alternative business options, such as entering the automotive industry. Despite the challenges, Lei committed to investing $10 billion into building a car.
Overcoming Challenges and Future Plans
Xiaomi appealed the U.S. sanctions and was removed from the blacklist in May 2021. Lei shared that over the past three years, he drove more than 170 different cars, obtained a race car license, and encouraged over 100 company executives and engineers to do the same.
Looking ahead, Lei announced Xiaomi’s ambitious goal for the next decade: to develop the fastest four-door electric car to drive the Nurburgring race track in Germany. Tests for a new race car version of the SU7 are set to begin in October.
In a related note, Geely-owned Zeekr launched a limited F1-inspired version of its 001 electric car in October 2023, showcasing the competitive and innovative landscape of the electric vehicle market.