17 vs 17, will Xiaomi defeat Apple?
How Powerful is the Xiaomi 17, Which Broke the "Sales Record" of Domestic Phones?
In the mobile phone industry, Huawei and Xiaomi have always been the ones that can generate the most buzz. However, Xiaomi is the only one that can always come up with new tricks and keep the heat going. Of course, there's nothing wrong with this, but the problem is that behind the huge traffic is also huge pressure. Any mistake will be magnified and get out of control in the public opinion field.
Defining ability is Apple's most core competitiveness. The iPhone 4 and iPhone X are vivid examples of this. Although the market performance of the Vision Pro is not as expected, it is still a technological masterpiece that is difficult to imitate and surpass. Now, Xiaomi is also trying to redefine mobile phones and has launched a new interactive design called "Magic Sharing Back Screen". It's not surprising to have a back screen, but it's really rare to have as many features as the back screen of the Xiaomi 17. This back screen supports various functions such as personalized wallpapers, AI wallpapers, cute pets, dynamic wallpapers, and game notifications. It also integrates important information notifications such as taxi-hailing, flights, and takeaways, allowing users to access key information without flipping the phone.
Image source: Internet
Many netizens think that this back screen is a bit useless because most of its functions can also be achieved on smartwatches and fitness trackers at a lower price. However, according to Xiaomi's order data, the Pro and Max versions of the Xiaomi 17, which are rare for Xiaomi, have become the best-selling models this year. On the contrary, the standard version without a back screen, which is cheaper, is selling mediocrely.
However, the most talked-about thing about Xiaomi is the naming of the 17 series, which clearly shows the intention to fully compete with the iPhone 17. Many Xiaomi users are wondering why Xiaomi skipped the 16 series and directly launched the 17 series this year after releasing the Xiaomi 15 series last year.
Lei Jun also answered this question. "You may need to get to know Xiaomi phones again," he said. "The product strength of this generation of Xiaomi phones has made a cross-generational upgrade and is extremely amazing. Compared with the entire iPhone 17 series, it has surpassed in many aspects."
It's possible that the Xiaomi 17 can surpass the iPhone 17, but is it really necessary to "compete in every aspect" in terms of the name? The Xiaomi 17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max are the first time that Xiaomi's digital series has changed from "two models" to "three models". Just looking at the names, it's really easy to get confused.
In addition, the release time of the Xiaomi 17 series is rarely right after Apple's press conference. You know, the Xiaomi 11 - 13 were released in December, the Xiaomi 14 - 15 were released at the end of October, and this press conference was even advanced to the end of September (close to the release time of new iPhone models in mid - early September).
On the night of the Xiaomi press conference, Lei Jun mentioned Apple dozens of times and made a comprehensive comparison between the Xiaomi 17 and the iPhone 17, which was commented by netizens as "Lei Jun held an iPhone press conference".
Image source: Internet
From a data perspective, within 5 minutes of the full - scale sales of the Xiaomi 17 series, it refreshed the sales volume and sales revenue records of new domestic phone series in all price segments on the first day of sales in 2025. It seems that Mr. Lei really understands users, and competing with Apple really works.
What Can Xiaomi Use to Defeat the iPhone 17?
01. Will a More Expensive Xiaomi Phone Be Better?
2020 was the first year for Xiaomi to enter the high - end market. Since then, the price of Xiaomi's flagship phones has increased significantly by 1,000 yuan, starting from 3,999 yuan. This pricing strategy lasted for three years. Last year, the starting price of the Xiaomi 15 was raised by 12.5% to 4,499 yuan, and this pricing was maintained for the Xiaomi 17. Generally speaking, after the price of the Xiaomi 10 series soared, the price of Xiaomi's digital series remained stable in the 4,000 - yuan range (Xiaomi 10 - 14) for a long time. The high - end configurations of the Xiaomi 17 have increased in price by 200 - 500 yuan compared with the previous generation. It's not hard to see that Xiaomi is still exploring the high - end market in terms of price.
The benefits of the price increase are immediate. Xiaomi's financial reports show that the gross profit margin of its mobile phone business has increased from about 2% in the early days to double - digits in recent years. In 2016, the gross profit margin of Xiaomi's mobile phone business was 3.45%. After entering the high - end market, this figure exceeded 10% in 2021 and has remained at around 12% in the past three years. In comparison, Apple's hardware gross profit margin has been stable at 30% - 40% for a long time, which is at the top level in the hardware industry. So, learning from Apple and having the same pricing power as Apple is what Xiaomi has always wanted to achieve.
Image source: Xiaomi's official website
However, on September 26, the day after the annual speech, the market reaction was very cold. Its stock price once fell by more than 8%, and its market value evaporated by more than HK$100 billion. The price is okay, and the sales volume has set a record. Why isn't the capital market reacting well?
Guo Ming - chi, an analyst at Tianfeng International Securities, pointed out the key problem. The total shipment volume of the Xiaomi 17 series has been reduced by about 20%. If there is no further improvement in the pricing strategy or marketing in the future, the total shipment volume of the Xiaomi 17 series may be lower than that of the Xiaomi 15 series, with an estimated shipment volume of 8 million units.
According to Guo Ming - chi, the reduction in the sales volume of the Xiaomi 17 series is mainly due to the lower - than - expected demand for the standard version. Originally, it was expected that the standard version would account for about 50% - 55% of the total sales volume, but after its launch, the sales volume was only about 15% - 20%. Although there were more orders for the Pro Max and Pro versions, it still couldn't offset the reduction in orders for the 17 standard version. Therefore, the overall shipment forecast was reduced by about 20%.
Wang Hua, the general manager of Xiaomi Group's public relations department, said, "There is currently no plan to cut orders. Since a new 16GB + 1TB version of the Xiaomi 17 standard version has been added, and there are more orders for the 17 Pro series, the product structure will change, and the overall product orders will increase compared with the previous generation."
It's not easy to judge whether the overall sales volume will decrease or increase at present, but it's still very difficult for the Xiaomi 17 to defeat the iPhone 17, which offers more for the same price. The sales volume of the iPhone 17 on the first day of sales was about 185% of that of the previous generation, and the sales volume of the iPhone 17 Pro Max was about 150% of that of the previous generation. Moreover, it still maintained a sales increase of nearly one million units in the recent week.
As some netizens said, "This year, Apple has started to cut prices to maintain sales. What strength does the Xiaomi 17 have to increase its sales?"
In addition to reassuring the market, Xiaomi also took out some "real money" to stabilize the situation. On the evening of September 29, Xiaomi Group announced that it had spent HK$26.9962 million to repurchase 507,400 shares, with an average repurchase price of about HK$53 per share. This is the second share repurchase by Xiaomi this year, and the first one was at the beginning of the year. In January, it repurchased a total of 6.83 million shares, costing 225 million yuan.
Image source: Xueqiu
02. From a Budget Alternative to a High - End Brand
Lei Jun recalled in this year's annual speech that he was deeply troubled by internal strife for several years: Should Xiaomi be content with the status quo and continue to be the "representative of high cost - performance", or should it bite the bullet and challenge the giants like Apple and Huawei? "After struggling for a long time, I decided to face all the problems, find a way to break the deadlock, and change our fate."
What's the way to break the deadlock? That is to bet on the high - end route, develop chips and cars, and for this, Xiaomi has invested tens of billions of yuan. Almost all brands want to produce high - end and high - margin products, but for most enterprises, whether it's chip development or car research, they have to face a very high failure rate. The fear of "failure means doom" makes many enterprises choose to play it safe and not take any big risks.
The new energy vehicle industry and the chip industry are still constantly innovating, and it's hard to see the end of the huge investment. The return period is also long. So, when Xiaomi resolutely entered these two industries, very few people were optimistic about it. Therefore, the significant increase in Xiaomi's stock price this year is mainly due to its breakthroughs in chips and cars.
Xiaomi's cars have already dominated the 200,000 - 300,000 - yuan price segment. The fact that the Xiaomi YU7 received 289,000 pre - orders in one hour shocked the entire automotive industry. Even Yu Chengdong had to admit that he couldn't match them.
Image source: Internet
On May 22 this year, Xiaomi officially released two chips, the "Xuanjie O1" and the "Xuanjie T1", becoming the first enterprise in the Chinese mainland and the fourth in the world to be able to independently research and design 3nm flagship SoCs, filling the gap in the field of 3nm advanced - process chip design in the Chinese mainland. Among them, the Xuanjie O1 chip uses a 10 - core CPU and a 16 - core GPU, and its performance and power consumption are among the top in the industry. Its AnTuTu score reaches over 3 million points, comparable to the Apple A18 Pro chip.
However, Xiaomi is still on the way to being a budget alternative to Apple. In terms of price, Xiaomi uses its top - of - the - line models to compete with Apple's base - model prices, thus establishing an overwhelming perception of "high - end configuration at a low price" in consumers' minds and continuing its cost - performance advantage in the 4,000 - 5,000 - yuan price segment. If it has really achieved superiority in the high - end market, why does it still need to compete in every aspect?
Does Xiaomi think there is still a big gap between its current performance and its expected performance as a high - end domestic brand?
Looking at the change in Xiaomi's mobile phone market share, it has increased significantly since the second half of last year. Since the prices of most Xiaomi phones fall within the range of government subsidies, the effect of the government subsidy policy is obvious. However, as the effect of the government subsidies weakens, Xiaomi's market share in the domestic market has declined again. And this time, the entire Xiaomi 17 series happens to be within the scope of government subsidies. Although most mainstream brands have phones eligible for subsidies, it's still rare for a brand like Xiaomi to have all its models in the subsidy range.
03. When Apple Also Starts to Emphasize Cost - Performance
Apple's position in the high - end market in China remains stable, but there have already been some strong challengers. IDC data shows that in the first quarter of 2025, in the high - end market in China for phones priced over 6,000 yuan, the market share of the iPhone has dropped from 70% to 58%. Domestic brands such as Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi are all actively compatible with Apple's software ecosystem, reducing the threshold for switching from an iPhone to an Android phone.
Instead of clumsily telling its AI story, Apple might as well just offer "more for the same price" with the iPhone. The storage capacity of the base version of the iPhone 17 has been increased to 256GB while keeping the price at 5,999 yuan (last year, the release price of the 256GB iPhone 16 was 6,999 yuan, which means a direct price cut of 1,000 yuan). If the government subsidy policy is also taken into account, the actual price of the base version of the iPhone 17 will be 5,499 yuan, which is close to the price range of mid - to high - end Android phones.
