Xiaomi Executive Explains Why Xiaomi Mi 10 & Mi 10 Pro Prices Are Higher Than Mi 9

Up until now, Xiaomi's flagship Mi series has been known for its affordable price compared to its hardware configuration and features and that is Xiaomi's strategy to attract more users. However, Xiaomi Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro have not followed that strategy, that might make quite a few fans unhappy.

Accordingly, the Mi 10 starts at nearly Rs. 41,00 and the Pro version’s starting price is nearly Rs. 51,000. This price is almost Rs. 10,000 higher than their predecessors in the Xiaomi Mi 9 lineup.

Explaining the skyrocketing price, Redmi general manager and Xiaomi executive Lu Weibing had shared on Weibo about the reason for raising the price of the Mi series, including Xiaomi Mi 10 and Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro.

One of the biggest reasons Lu Weibing shares is the transition from 4G-enabled Snapdragon 855 chip to the Snapdragon 865, which supports 5G. Lu said the cost of switching new chips and network modems almost doubled compared to the Snapdragon 855.

Earlier, Xiaomi founder Lei Jun shared that the price of the Snapdragon 865 chip and 5G modem has increased by about $70 (around Rs. 5,000), resulting in Xiaomi being forced to raise the price to offset the cost.

There is also another reason for Xiaomi to increase the price of Mi 10 / Mi 10 Pro, which is the switch to a 90Hz curved OLED screen with a punch-hole, making its production cost twice as much as that of the Xiaomi Mi 9.

The third reason mentioned by Lu is that it upgraded the number of cameras to four along with a built-in 108MP camera and support for dual OIS. That's not to mention Mi 10 / Mi 10 Pro has upgraded from DDR4 RAM to DDR5. Of course, the higher price of DDR5 makes the cost of RAM increase by 20%.

Finally, a series of upgrades on battery life, fast charging, cooling technology and a series of other related costs caused the Mi 10 / Mi 10 Pro duo to increase the price compared to Mi 9.

Despite the increase in price, Redmi general manager believes that the Mi 10 / Mi 10 Pro lineup of the company is enough to take on the Mate 30 Pro and even owns a better chipset, screen, and higher-resolution camera setup.

Since Xiaomi separated Redmi and POCO from its parent company, the company has aimed to build a new brand identity for Mi series, which is the high-end smartphone with a high price to compete with rivals like Samsung or Apple.

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