Titan Takes a Tumble: The Rise, Fall and Possible Return of Xiaomi in India

In the fast-changing Indian smartphone landscape, market leadership is never guaranteed. Xiaomi, once a household name synonymous with value for money, was dethroned from its market leadership position in 2022. Since then, it has been stepping down the ladder every year, and in the first quarter of 2025, it slipped out of the top five smartphone brands in India altogether.

A brand that held the top spot for five straight years now finds itself in unfamiliar territory. It’s a cautionary tale of how fast success can turn into stagnation when strategic missteps meet shifting market dynamics.

The fall hasn’t gone unnoticed. As Xiaomi stumbles, rivals — from tech giants such as Samsung and Apple to Chinese competitors Oppo, vivo and OnePlus, along with agile newcomers and re-entrants like Nothing and Motorola — are moving to claim pieces of its empire. The question is: can Xiaomi rise again?

In 2014, Xiaomi entered India with a bold bet: an online-only sales model, a “Mi fan” community and a flash sales concept. This was a disruptive move in a market dominated by bricks-and-mortar stores led by Samsung and domestic players like Micromax, Karbonn and Lava.

It wasn’t just the strategy; it was the right product at the right time. Xiaomi offered premium design and features at extremely low prices. Flash sales that sold out in minutes helped create a dedicated following and fear of missing out, building buzz and brand loyalty. Its Note smartphone series quickly became a runaway success, especially among young people.

By 2017, Xiaomi’s efforts had paid off. It surpassed Samsung to become India’s number-one smartphone brand, a title it held for five consecutive years.

With a strong Indian leadership team, Xiaomi also ventured offline, first with Mi Stores, then into large-format retail with an omnichannel presence. Despite price disparities between online and offline channels, demand stayed strong. The scarcity of devices online pushed many consumers to buy from offline stores despite higher prices.

Xiaomi didn’t stop at smartphones. It successfully entered new markets — smart TVs, wearables and accessories — cementing itself as a lifestyle brand, not just a gadget seller. It also advanced its product segmentation by launching the Poco sub-brand to attract younger, gaming-focused customers, a move later copied by vivo with iQOO and realme with the Narzo series.

However, in 2022, regulatory trouble struck hard, as Xiaomi, Oppo and vivo were accused of money laundering. More than $700 million in Xiaomi’s assets were frozen, triggering significant financial instability and a wave of top-level resignations, along with a management overhaul.

But legal woes were only one problem. Xiaomi’s sudden move to a “premiumization” strategy saw it shift from a volume-based business to a strategy focused on revenue and profitability. The change in positioning proved unpopular with consumers and led to a decline in sales. To address this, Xiaomi shrunk its product portfolio, with fewer models in the entry-level segment. But a lack of availability of desired models and confusing brand positioning saw consumers seek other alternatives.

Its premium strategy worked in China but backfired in India, as the company found it difficult to switch consumers’ perception from an affordable brand to a premium brand overnight.

Retailers, once enthusiastic partners, turned lukewarm. Steep sales targets and a switch in retail payouts from volume to value-based targets added to their dissatisfaction. Lower margins compared with competitors incentivized retailers to push Oppo and vivo devices instead.

As Xiaomi stumbled, others seized the opportunity. Samsung refined its dual play for premium and mid-range smartphones, leading the market in 2022 and 2023. vivo strongly expanded production, enhanced its product portfolio across price bands and balanced pricing across channels, becoming the top brand in 2024.

Apple, once a fringe player in India, launched two flagship stores, invested in marketing channels and entered quick commerce. In the first quarter of 2025, Apple featured in the top-five brand list for the second consecutive quarter. OnePlus, with a programme called Project Starlight, committed to a three-year investment in India. Motorola and Nothing quietly built strong offline bases, preparing for a larger share grab.

What was once Xiaomi’s kingdom is now an open battlefield.

But despite its decline, Xiaomi isn’t dead; it’s dormant. It still has a significant number of customers and strong brand recall in the sub-$200 phone segment. To stage a comeback, here are the main steps we believe it must focus on:

Build premium roots without losing ground. The push toward premium devices can’t come at the cost of the low-end segment, which has always been its core business. India is still a price-sensitive market, and abandoning that too quickly risks alienating its mainstream users.

Xiaomi’s shift toward premium smartphones, with launches like the Xiaomi 13 Ultra to 15 Ultra, shows ambition. These devices are impressive, but the company is still relatively new to the premium game, so building trust and acceptance in this space will take time.

Innovate through utility and hardware differentiation. Unlike rivals that are using distinctive hardware to gain buzz and raise prices, Xiaomi hasn’t introduced a unique product design or any breakthrough hardware to justify its move upmarket. Xiaomi must deliver stand-out features at competitive prices — for example, a differentiated operating system, unique AI capabilities, a professional-grade camera experience or new formats like foldables. It needs to recapture the sense of innovation and excitement it once sparked.

Underscoring its commitment to innovation and enhancing the overall consumer experience, Xiaomi recently signed a multiyear partnership with Qualcomm, centred on integrating the chipmaker’s Snapdragon 8 Series Mobile Platform into its premium smartphones. This signals the brand’s long-term vision beyond hardware upgrades, laying the foundation for future product differentiation.

That said, the partnership came as a surprise, given that just a few days earlier, Xiaomi’s CEO announced it would start shipping its own Xring O1 mobile chip. CCS Insight understands that, for now, Qualcomm will remain the primary chip supplier to Xiaomi. This highlights a clear strategic distinction: leaning on Qualcomm’s proven strengths in quality, scalability and supply chain, while gradually developing custom silicon to support differentiation in the premium segment.

Reinvent its brand. Marketing and partnerships will be crucial to shifting its image from an affordable brand to a premium one. To attract aspirational consumers, the brand must feel premium not just in specifications, but across the entire experience, from design and service to software and brand ethos.

However, maintaining a price advantage over entrenched players like Apple and Samsung could position Xiaomi as the go-to choice for value-conscious consumers seeking a flagship experience. Striking a balance between aspiration and affordability will be critical in redefining its place in the high-end market.

Whether Xiaomi can get its mojo back in India remains to be seen. The Xiaomi story is a case study in both disruption and complacency. Indian brands once ruled, only to be displaced by Samsung. Then came Xiaomi, which toppled them all. Now, the cycle turns again. Although there’s no stable leader, in this chaos lies an opportunity.