This festive season will help drive growth of 5G devices in India: Xiaomi’s Muralikrishnan B

“This festive shopping season will probably be like a landmark occasion in the hory of the growth of 5G in India,” states Muralikrishnan B, president, Xiaomi India. Muralikrishnan’s optimism about the festive season– often seen as a critical one for sales in the smartphone industry– comes despite what has been an otherwise challenging year given the inflation crisis, rupee depreciation and ongoing Ukraine War.
“Demand has picked up, we have the 5G auction concluded, we have various operators announcing the launch of 5G and it is against this context, that we are entering the festive shopping season,” he points out. A renewed focus on 5G is also what Xiaomi will target with ‘India-ready 5G’ being a key part of the brand’s messaging.
The company has, in fact, just launched three new phones in the market. The Redmi 11 Prime 5G– which starts at Rs 13,999, the Redmi 11 Prime (4G) and Redmi A1. The last one on the l is one of the most affordable phones from the brand starting at Rs 6,499.
“Whatever we have launched in the last year will support 5G on NSA (non-standalone 5G) mode. Now to ensure that there is support for standalone mode (SA) also, we’re working on the over-the-air updates. And the time Jio commences rollout in October, we will be ready with the SA-capability for 5G across most of our devices,” Muralikrishnan explains, adding that almost all of the devices they have launched in the past support the critical bands which will work across the country.

He’s also convinced that the big jump for 5G will come from the Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 price band, though right now the options in this particular price are limited. “In our assessment, it is this Rs 10,000 to 15,000 price point, which we believe can significantly drive the 5G revolution in India,” he noted, adding that above Rs 20,000 all of their devices will be 5G-ready.
However, there are still challenges when it comes to creating truly affordable 5G phones, especially in the under Rs 10,000 segment. For one, the price of 5G chipsets is higher than 4G-only chipsets. Xiaomi India’s President also admitted there are greater challenges in the under Rs 10,000 segment— one where Redmi used to play quite strongly a few years back.

“The impact of inflation and earlier on the supply chain chipset shortages impacted that segment (under Rs 10,000) the most. Somebody who’s got a Rs 6000 or Rs 7000 rupee budget, even if the price of a phone were to go up 500, that makes it unaffordable. This in some ways can impact feature phone to smartphone upgradation,” he notes. Xiaomi is hoping to address this with the Redmi A1 which is one of its most affordable phones in recent times.
But in his view, the company will also need to rely on a “combination of product pricing, promotion” to overcome these challenges, which is what the brand intends to do this sale season. He also noted that the under Rs 10,000 segment has shrunk a bit due to the price rise.
And what of Xiaomi’s strategy to balance 4G and 5G products in the portfolio? Muralikrishnan indicated this will depend on many factors. “Jio has said across most tier two markets 5G rollout will be complete 2023. And maybe Airtel could take a little bit longer. To cover the entire country we’re talking sometime in 2024 for 5G, that’s more than a year and a half away,” he pointed out, adding that the Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 segment will still see 4G playing some role and the 4G will not disappear over night.
“But if we are seeing an even even bigger acceleration in 5G, which we believe devices like Redmi 11 Prime 5g should achieve, then obviously we will keep modifying our portfolio strategy and increasing allocation to 5G,” he said.
What about bundling 5G plans with a smartphone– a strategy we’ve seen earlier with 4G devices? Muralikrishnan admitted this is something they are open to exploring further, especially since Jio plans to roll out 5G Diwali.