Xiaomi aims to disrupt smart TV segment in India; launches 55inch LED TV at Rs 39,999

Chinese technology giant, Xiaomi, is expanding its product offering in India. After launching the smart air purifier and smart router, Xiaomi has now launched one of its latest TV in the country. India is the first country outside China where the smart TVs will be launched.

Starting with only one model - a 55inch 4K HDR Smart LED TV - the company aims to disrupt the smart TV segment in India. Priced aggressively at Rs 39,999  in India, the Mi TV 4 uses Samsung's 4K panel is said to be the world's thinnest LED TV. Customised for the Indian needs, the TV comes with 3 HDMI ports and 2 USB ports along with custom built PatchWall interface that fetches ready-to-stream content from 10 partners to start with.

Commenting on the aggressive pricing, Manu Kumar Jain, managing director, Xiaomi India explains, "We believe in honest pricing and when it comes to TV, we don't make money on the hardware at all. On phone to monetise the software layer is a little more tough, but on TV our approach is content first and we will be selling content. There will be a revenue sharing models with our partners for the subscription of paid content."

To start with, Xiaomi plans to sell the Mi TV through online platform including Flipkart and mi.com and in offline retail through Mi Homes. Jain says, "TV industry is very much similar to what smartphone industry was three years ago. And we believe we can completely redefine this segment in India as we are offering best specifications and quality at an honest price."

The Mi TVs sold in India will not be manufactured in India but will be imported from China. Considering the increase in import duties on TVs, Xiaomi still doesn't have any plans to setup a manufacturing facility for TV in India. "There are two big consideration before setting up a manufacturing facility. Setting up a facility require big investment and we need to have scale/volume to justify that investment. There is a sophisticated technology used to assemble these panels. It requires a huge number of robotic arms to assemble as everything is automated", adds Jain.