It was 2018 when Xiaomi amazed everyone with its Pocophone F1, a smartphone considered by many to be the spiritual heir of the historic OnePlus One. This is due to its being a real flagship killer, bringing the same specifications as Xiaomi Mi 8 to the plate but at a list price of 329 €. In 2020 the sub-brand declared itself “independent” from Xiaomi, but the reality of the facts is that the links with the parent company continue to exist and in a clear way.
And it can be seen from a catalog composed almost entirely only of rebrands of existing smartphones under the Xiaomi or Redmi brand. But there is one constant factor that has allowed POCO to make a name for itself: inexpensive smartphones. It is no coincidence that the best-selling Xiaomi smartphones everyone is not Xiaomi branded but are part of its sub-brands.
In the future of POCO, there could be very expensive smartphones
To some, it may seem that the philosophy of the POCO brand is substantially the same as that of the Redmi brand, but the truth is that Xiaomi uses them in a more strategic way than it may seem. While they both have entry-level, mid-range and flagship smartphones, not all models are marketed everywhere. Considering the Global market, Redmi only trades the economic models (Redmi and Redmi Note series), while POCO also goes to the medium/high range (F and X series).
So far the most expensive POCO smartphone has been POCO F2 Pro, sold in Italy at € 499, while with POCO F3 it has dropped to € 349. On the contrary, a smartphone-like Xiaomi 12X starts at € 699, with Xiaomi 12 rising to € 799. Xiaomi’s will is obviously to compare itself to the big names in the market, producing smartphones that are so expensive but with few sacrifices in terms of the technical datasheet. On the other hand, POCO remains the reference brand for those looking for a smartphone with advanced specifications but at an affordable price. But will it be like this forever?
Kevin Qiu and Angus Kai Ho Ng, executives of POCO Global, spoke about the possibility of expanding the catalog to more expensive smartphones. On the occasion of an interview at MWC 2022 in Barcelona, they emphasized the attention towards the comparison of the mid-range, but without disdaining the possibility of going further.
When asked whether POCO will ever produce folding or ultra flagship smartphones, the management has not ruled out this possibility. Obviously, this does not mean that we should expect a POCO folding smartphone soon, on the contrary, given the difficulties encountered by mom Xiaomi in taking it out of China. But in a future in which the leaflets will be cleared through customs (and above all cheaper), it would not be surprising to see perhaps a Redmi model rebranded POCO on the Global territory.