Xiaomi unveils Mi 5X to boost 'new retail' sales

Xiaomi founder Lei Jun speaks at Mi 5X launching event in Beijing, July 26, 2017. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Tech company Xiaomi launched the Mi 5X smartphone on Wednesday in Beijing to further boost its sales in both online and offline channels.

The Mi 5X, which is equipped with a Snapdragon 625 processor and dual camera with zoom lens, will be available Aug 1 on Xiaomi's own sales channels and through 68 brick-and-mortar distributors.

This device, which is endorsed by Kris Wu, the 27-year-old singer-actor, and deemed by Xiaomi as a "strategic product" for its new retail model, is priced at 1,499 yuan.

Jin Di, research manager with IDC China, said the new handset may well beef up sales as there are not many smartphones with zoom-lens-and-dual-camera on the market, in addition to its pricing and Kris Wu's endorsement.

Xiaomi founder Lei Jun said that it is hard for him to define what kind of company Xiaomi is.

"However, Xiaomi is a smartphone company, an internet company and a new retail company," he added.

The Mi 5X smartphone. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"We sell hardware priced close to costs and we earn revenue from internet-related services."

Xiaomi earlier this month claimed that it shipped 23.16 million smartphones in the second quarter of 2017, a 70 percent spike from the previous quarter and said the company has maintained a rapid growth trajectory.

Lei explained that the company's efforts in combining online and offline sales channels helped achieve this breakthrough.

To date, Xiaomi has opened 149 Mi Home retail stores and will open 1,000 such stores in next three years in China, which will bring in 70 billion yuan in revenue, Lei added.

Xiaomi also launched MIUI 9, an update of its own operating system for smartphones, which is always been a core company product.

MIUI 9 features easy ways to find photos, to sort out saved information and one-step solutions to services such as making reservations at restaurants.

The company also launched a smart speaker, powered by its AI technology.