Xiaomi launched its flagship smartphone globally on Sunday because the Chinese language electronics big makes an attempt to take a slice of the high-end market and problem Apple and Samsung.

The Xiaomi 13 and 13 Professional have been initially launched in China in December, however now the Beijing, China-headquartered firm is bringing the units to markets abroad.

The Xiaomi 13 Professional system sports activities a 6.73-inch show and the newest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset from U.S. agency Qualcomm. It has a triple-lens digicam and different premium options like ultra-fast charging. The corporate talked up the capabilities of its digicam that it “co-engineered” with German agency Leica.

The Xiaomi 13 begins at 999 euros ($1,053) whereas the 13 Professional begins at 1,299 euros.

Xiaomi had a tough yr in 2022 with its smartphone shipments declining 26% year-on-year, based on analysis agency IDC, the most important fall among the many high 5 greatest handset distributors. The corporate swung to a loss within the September quarter, the newest monetary outcomes accessible.

Xiaomi has confronted quite a lot of headwinds, specifically a tougher macroeconomic atmosphere with a slowing financial system in China. A complete of 1.21 billion smartphones have been shipped in 2022, which represents the lowest annual cargo complete since 2013, based on IDC.

“Xiaomi is going through a number of headwinds inside China from an ever-popular Apple iPhone, a surprisingly sturdy Honor, and fickle Chinese language customers who usually swap between Android {hardware} manufacturers in a flash,” Neil Mawston, an analyst at TechInsights, advised CNBC through e-mail.

Honor is the Chinese language smartphone model that was spun off from Huawei.

Xiaomi has was one of many greatest smartphone makers over time through a technique of bringing out high-spec units at very aggressive value factors. It started pushing into abroad markets round seven years in the past, pursuing an analogous technique. However it’s now seeking to push into the upper finish of the market, the place margins are increased and the market continues to be rising.

Excessive-end smartphones, people who value over $800, accounted for 18% of the whole handset market in 2022, up from 11% in 2020, Canalys knowledge reveals. Xiaomi’s push into the premium tier will pit it in opposition to Apple and Samsung, which shall be a problem for the Chinese language rival. Samsung and Apple units accounted for 92% of the high-end market in 2022, based on Canalys.

“Competing with Apple and Samsung is extremely troublesome. Not simply matching market main merchandise, however significantly going up in opposition to huge corporations with distinctive model consciousness, high-end perceptions, expertise centered options and product ecosystems with excessive user-stickiness,” Runar Bjørhovde, analysis analyst at Canalys, advised CNBC through e-mail.

Xiaomi is the newest Chinese language smartphone participant that’s attempting to crack the high-end of the market. Oppo launched its first foldable telephone for the abroad market this month that prices greater than $1,000.