Xiaomi entered the smart TV space two years ago. Within such a short span of time the brand managed to gain the trust of over five million consumers in India, the company claims. Xiaomi’s Mi TVs have been ruling the budget smart TV segment for a few quarters now. With the recently launched QLED TV dubbed Mi QLED TV 4K, the company hopes to capture the premium smart TV market. The brand believes that this is just the start as there are plans to bring more and more QLED TVs for Indian consumers in the near future.
In an email interaction with BGR.in, Eshwar Nilakantan , Category Lead, Mi TV said that he is hopeful that Xiaomi “will be able to double the market of QLED TVs in the next one year, pertaining to our customers’ comfort and easy accessibility for them.”
While Nilakantan didn’t clearly mention about affordable QLED Mi TVs, he did hint that future QLED TV models from Xiaomi are going to focus on “easy accessibility” of Indian consumers.
According to Nilakantan, QLED TVs are “clearly at the forefront of emerging TV technology and they make up a large portion of the premium TV segment.” He also said that “The QLED TV market is still in its nascent stage, and we will try to bring novel technologies in this segment, and at this point.”
Growth in 4K TV space
Before foraying into the QLED TV category, Xiaomi marked its presence in the 4K TV segment, which is currently evolving at a fast pace, last year. Nilakantan said that Xiaomi has seen tremendous growth in this segment in the last one year.
“In the last one year, after the launch of our 4K series, we have witnessed a 55 percent growth in the 4K segment. The Mi TV 65 was one of the highest selling 65-inch TV in India,” Nilakantan said.
Focus at ‘Make in India’
Xiaomi currently manufactures all of its Mi TV models within the country. Nilakantan said that “currently 100 percent of our smart TVs sold in India are manufactured in India, with some of the components being sourced globally.” He noted that the new Mi QLED TV 4K is also manufactured in India, while the display panel is imported from other manufacturers.
The company is currently exploring avenues to build a strong smart TV manufacturing ecosystem and set the motion for component players to come and work in India. “Given the pace at which we are operating, we are confident that we will be able to source display panels locally, thereby making local manufacturing a reality in the near future,” Nilakantan said.
