With Xiaomi 17 and 17 Ultra, company charts its push in premium segments in India
India Today
Premium push is the plan at Xiaomi India as the company launches its latest flagship phones. In a conversation with India Today Tech, Xiaomi India COO Sudhin Mathur says the Xiaomi 17 Ultra and the Xiaomi 17 will appeal to Indian consumers who are increasingly demanding the absolute best.
First things first: Xiaomi 17 Ultra and the Xiaomi 17 will be available in India in good volumes. This is the promise Sudhin Mathur, COO at Xiaomi India, makes to consumers in his conversation with India Today Tech. After seeing the buzz created by the Xiaomi 15 and the 15 Ultra last year, Mathur says that this time the company is bringing its flagship phones to India in bigger numbers. In other words, even though Xiaomi expects brisk demand for the Xiaomi 17 and the 17 Ultra from Indian consumers, it is also confident that these two phones would not be out of stock anytime soon.
“Last year we launched the Xiaomi 15 Series in India and it did well for us. But (in terms of volume) we were just testing waters with the 15 Series,” Mathur says. “We finished off much earlier than we expected. Now we are far more confident. This year we are ensuring that the volumes will be there.”
While India’s ultra-premium phone market is dominated by Apple iPhone, and up to an extent by the Samsung Galaxy and the Google Pixel, Xiaomi is hoping to make serious inroads in the segment with the 17 and the 17 Ultra. The two phones, and in particular the Ultra with its Leica-branded camera, are loaded to the gills with the latest and greatest smartphone hardware. They will be formally launched in India on March 11.
The two devices fit into the larger plan that Xiaomi has for its India business. For over a year now, the company is pushing into more premium segments. It is doing that across categories.
Bringing the Xiaomi 17 and the Xiaomi 17 Ultra to India so soon after its global launch, and in bigger volumes, is one way the company is hoping to supercharge its premium push. Separately, in other categories too it is pushing forward with marquee products. A recent one such product is the company’s 75-inch QLED TV. Xiaomi says that last year, it had almost 6X growth on its QLED (premium) units.
“On the television side, you will see larger displays and not just larger, but better displays as well,” says Sudhin. “Premium play and (Xiaomi) ecosystem, these are going to be our two new directionally focus areas from here onwards because consumers are also shifting. And I think we are moving well (with the changing market). The launch of the 17 and the 17 Ultra is the second month of our this year's strategy.”The same shift from the company is visible in the tablets. In this category too Xiaomi is pushing devices that offer more polished experience and more upmarket hardware. Along with the 17 Series phones, the company has launched the Xiaomi Pad 8 and the Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro. With the new tablets, it is hoping to repeat the success of the Pad 7 series, which last year was a runaway hit. Currently, the company holds 11 per cent market share in the tablet market. But more significantly, the Pad 7, according to Xiaomi and CMR, accounted for 32 per cent of total premium tablet sales in India in Q2, 2025.
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