Xiaomi founder and chief executive Lei Jun this week said that the company is using Apple's iPhone as a benchmark to "catch up and beat it one day" (via South China Morning Post).
During the announcement of its latest flagship foldable smartphone, the Mix Fold 3, Lei repeatedly compared the new device to the iPhone 14 Pro Max. He stopped short of mentioning Xiaomi's aim to become the world's biggest smartphone vendor, a goal he first mentioned in August 2021.
Lei often attempts to characterize Xiaomi as a major rival to Apple, but the company's $40 billion market capitalization pales in comparison to Apple's almost $3 trillion valuation. Nevertheless, in the second quarter of 2021, Apple's iPhone sales were briefly surpassed by Xiaomi for the first time.
Xiaomi is actively aiming to capture the global high-end smartphone segment. Last year, Lei described competition with Apple as "a war of life and death." Xiaomi reportedly intends to attract more customers by distinguishing itself from other major Chinese Android smartphone brands that are also targeting Apple's lucrative high-end segment by focusing on user experience, as well as filling the void left by the likes of Huawei.
The Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 features an 8-inch AMOLED display, a 5x periscopic zoom camera, Leica optics, Qualcomm's second-generation Snapdragon processor, and 50W wireless charging. It starts at $1,240 and is currently available in China only.
