First Understand what just happened!
Xiaomi’s founder Lei Jun used a livestreamed event to do more than launch a new phone in $630 — he framed the Xiaomi 17 as a direct rival to Apple’s iPhone 17, rolled out pricing that undercuts Apple, and reminded investors that the company now sells cars and is building its own chips.
The base Xiaomi 17 starts at 4,499 yuan (about $630) — roughly $100 cheaper than Apple’s base iPhone 17 — and comes as Xiaomi pushes into electric vehicles and semiconductor design.
Price and positioning: a deliberate jab at Apple
Lei Jun staged side-by-side comparisons during the event, highlighting battery life, display quality and camera performance as areas where Xiaomi says the 17 competes with Apple’s newest model.
The company is explicitly shifting its messaging to place Xiaomi in the premium tier, rather than as the value brand it once was. Xiaomi will offer Pro and Pro Max models alongside the base Xiaomi 17, with top trim prices reported near 5,999 yuan for the range-topping variant.
An ecosystem beyond phones: EVs and big orders
The product keynote also doubled as a showcase of Xiaomi’s broader ambitions. Lei Jun again highlighted the company’s electric-vehicle push. Xiaomi’s YU7 SUV drew extraordinary demand earlier this year — public figures cited more than 200,000–289,000 orders in the opening hour of sales — and deliveries have been ramping since launch.
That EV success has helped lift Xiaomi’s market value, with shares up sharply over the past year as investors price in the EV business. But high demand has brought growing pains: delivery waits and customer complaints prompted Xiaomi to scale production and address quality issues earlier this summer.
Lei Jun used the livestream to reassure customers and investors by pointing to production increases and fixes such as over-the-air updates to drive-assist features.
Chips, software and a long play on self-reliance
Perhaps most strategic was Lei’s pledge on semiconductors. Xiaomi is committing heavy resources to develop in-house mobile processors: the company has said it will invest roughly 50 billion yuan (about $6.9–7 billion) over the coming years and has a dedicated team of thousands working on SoC design.
Xiaomi first showed an in-house design this year (the Xring O1 family) and signaled that future devices — phones, tablets and cars — will increasingly run on its own silicon. That’s a clear attempt to reduce reliance on external suppliers and to own more of its product stack.
What this means for Apple, Tesla and the market
By aligning the Xiaomi 17 launch with big picture moves — EV scale-up and chip investment — Lei Jun is sending a signal: Xiaomi wants to be judged alongside Apple (phones), Tesla (EVs) and big chip players (semiconductors).
That is a risky, capital-intensive path, but investors have rewarded the strategy so far as Xiaomi’s market value has climbed. Still, rivals and regulators will watch closely; Xiaomi faced regulatory scrutiny earlier this year after an accident involving one of its cars and has had to manage customer backlash over wait times.
Quick takeaways for shoppers and investors
- Shoppers: The Xiaomi 17’s price point — starting at 4,499 yuan (~$630) — makes it a cheaper option vs. the iPhone 17 base model, but buyers should compare regional availability, warranty and feature differences. Xiaomi will sell Pro and Pro Max models at higher prices.
- Investors: Xiaomi is betting its future on two capital-intensive bets: EV manufacturing and chip design. Those moves can expand margins if executed well, but they also increase operational and regulatory risks.
Lei Jun summed up the tone: Xiaomi has “undergone a profound transformation” and now wants to compete head-to-head with premium rivals. Whether consumers outside China will embrace the Xiaomi 17 — and whether Xiaomi can scale EVs and chips profitably — will determine if this moment becomes a watershed or an expensive experiment.
Sources: Xiaomi official launch post and product pages; Bloomberg coverage of the Xiaomi 17 launch and company strategy; Bloomberg and Reuters reporting on Xiaomi EV orders, deliveries and the company’s chip investment plans.