Exclusive: Manu Kumar Jain says Xiaomi to focus more on premium smartphones, confident about Mi 11 Ultra

In an exclusive interview with India Today Tech, Manu Kumar Jain – Global VP, Xiaomi and MD, Xiaomi India talks about Mi 11 Ultra price, the Redmi K20 successor, Xiaomi's Make in India plans and current challenges for smartphone industry.

Xiaomi recently launched its first true flagship in India, the Mi 11 Ultra and even though it hasn’t confirmed the availability of the phone, remains confident about its success. Mi 11 Ultra, which features one of the biggest camera sensors on any smartphones in the world, is priced at Rs 69,999 in the country. In an exclusive interview with India Today Tech, Manu Kumar Jain Global VP, Xiaomi and MD, Xiaomi India, said that the smartphone is a steal at the price, and he expects it do well. This isn’t Xiaomi’s first attempt at the premium market. It has launched the Redmi K20 series and Mi 10 phones in India in the past but, Manu believes that users are now more willing to spend on premium phones. He said that Xiaomi believes that this is the right time for it focus on premium smartphones but doesn’t want to refresh the same devices again and again. Manu also talked about the challenges being faced by the smartphone manufacturers, Xiaomi’s Make in India efforts and its goals for 2021. Here are the edited excerpts from the conversation -