China's cellphone tactics to beat the iPhone are heavily criticized
Photo: REUTERS/Stringer
- The Xiaomi 14 and 14 Pro flagship series were just released in China at the end of October 2023. In less than a month, the cellphones have sold 1 million units, according to claims by Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun.
Analysts assess that the large number of people interested in the Xiaomi 14 marks the revival of the Chinese cellphone market, after falling over the last few quarters.
The Xiaomi 14 and 14 Pro could be said to be quite ambitious, especially from the photography aspect. This cellphone is equipped with a camera developed together with Leica, a legendary manufacturer from Germany.
Indeed, Xiaomi has announced a strategic partnership with Leica since last year. However, this seems to have received attention from various important figures in the technology industry.
Sebastian de With, designer and co-founder of Lux Optics who developed the iPhone camera application 'Halide', was one of those who criticized the collaboration between Xiaomi and Leica.
"I'm surprised that Leica actually values its brand so low, that it allows Chinese companies to put their logo on iPhone knock-off cellphones," he said, quoted by veteran technology journalist Sam Byford via Multicore.
Veteran technology blogger and UI designer, John Gruber, is equally cynical. He openly gave scathing comments to Leica and Xiaomi.
"I'm confused as to what surprised me more: Xiaomi, which is shameless and is copying the iPhone outright, or Leica, which is willing to do anything (perhaps for Xiaomi's money)," he said, quoted from Byford's article, Friday (10/11 /2023).
According to Byford, it is legitimate for the technology elite to insinuate Xiaomi's efforts to beat Apple by collaborating with Leica. However, he added that the HP industry in the US is different from China.
China's HP industry is much more competitive than many sectors. For your information, the largest cellphone market is held by China, so all cellphone manufacturers consider the Bamboo Curtain country as the key to their business.
"In the flagship market, there are Apple, Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi and Vivo, which currently provide devices with stunning hardware. The four Chinese manufacturers that I mentioned also have complete portfolios, in the entry level to mid range segments," he said.
This means that the market in China has a character that makes it easier to change cellphones. He said that the character of iPhone users in the US tends to be loyal users. Meanwhile in China, people will easily change from Apple, to Huawei, then to Xiaomi, etc.
In this way, it is only natural that Chinese manufacturers compete to present the best devices from various sectors. Apart from that, rather than judging Xiaomi to imitate the iPhone, you could say that the manufacturer just wants its device to be more familiar to a market that is used to using flagships.
"Labeling Chinese companies as copycats doesn't seem right. When Instagram Reels copied TikTok, the same scathing satire didn't sound as strong," he said.
Apart from that, Apple also imitates many of the features embedded in Android. For example, 'Always-on Screen' and 'Swipe-to-type'.
"The most important thing is that the software offered by Chinese manufacturers is functional, familiar and suitable for the audience's needs," Byford emphasized.
Regarding Leica, this is not the first time the veteran vendor has collaborated with the HP company. Previously, Leica had also partnered with Huawei.
"If you buy a Xiaomi flagship with a Leica camera, like the Xiaomi 13 Pro and Ultra, you get a cellphone with the best camera in the world," he added.
Taktik HP China Kalahkan iPhone Dikritik Habis-Habisan
Foto: REUTERS/Stringer
- Seri flagship Xiaomi 14 dan 14 Pro baru saja rilis di China pada akhir Oktober 2023. Dalam waktu kurang dari sebulan, HP tersebut sudah laku terjual 1 juta unit, menurut klaim CEO Xiaomi Lei Jun.
Analis menilai ramainya peminat Xiaomi 14 menandai kebangkitan pasar HP China, setelah anjlok selama beberapa kuartal terakhir.
Xiaomi 14 dan 14 Pro bisa dibilang cukup ambisius, utamanya dari aspek fotografi. HP ini dilengkapi kamera yang dikembangkan bersama dengan Leica, pabrikan legendaris asal Jerman.
Memang, Xiaomi telah mengumumkan kemitraan strategis dengan Leica sejak tahun lalu. Namun, agaknya hal ini mendapat sorotan dari berbagai tokoh penting di industri teknologi.
Sebastian de With, designer sekaligus co-founder Lux Optics yang mengembangkan aplikasi kamera iPhone 'Halide', menjadi salah satu yang mengkritik kerja sama Xiaomi dan Leica.
"Saya terkejut Leica ternyata menilai brand-nya sangat rendah, sehingga membiarkan perusahaan China menaruh logo mereka di HP tiruan iPhone," kata dia, dikutip oleh jurnalis teknologi kawakan Sam Byford via Multicore.
Blogger teknologi kawakan sekaligus designer UI, John Gruber, juga sama sinisnya. Ia terang-terangan memberikan komentar pedas ke Leica dan Xiaomi.
"Saya bingung apa yang membuat saya lebih terkejut: Xiaomi yang tak tahu malu dan meniru iPhone mentah-mentah, atau Leica yang bersedia melakukan apapun (mungkin demi uang dari Xiaomi)," kata dia, dikutip dari tulisan Byford, Jumat (10/11/2023).
Menurut Byford, sah saja bagi para elit teknologi menyindir upaya Xiaomi mengalahkan Apple dengan menggandeng Leica. Namun, ia menambahkan bahwa industri HP di AS berbeda dengan China.
Industri HP China jauh lebih kompetitif dari berbagai sektor. Sebagai informasi, pasar HP terbesar pun dipegang China, sehingga seluruh pabrikan HP menganggap Negeri Tirai Bambu sebagai kunci bisnis mereka.
"Di pasar flagship, Ada Apple, Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi, dan Vivo, yang memberikan perangkat dengan hardware memukau saat ini. Empat pabrikan China yang saya sebutkan juga punya portofolio lengkap, di segmen entry level hingga mid range," kata dia.
Artinya, pasar di China memiliki karakter yang lebih mudah berganti HP. Ia mengatakan, karakter pengguna iPhone di AS cenderung merupakan pengguna loyal. Sementara di China, masyarakat akan mudah berganti dari Apple, ke Huawei, lalu ke Xiaomi, dst.
Dengan begitu, wajar saja jika pabrikan China berlomba-lomba menghadirkan perangkat sebaik-baiknya dari berbagai sektor. Selain itu, ketimbang menilai Xiaomi meniru iPhone, bisa dibilang pabrikan tersebut hanya ingin perangkatnya lebih familiar bagi pasar yang sudah biasa pakai flagship.
"Melabelkan perusahaan China sebagai tukang tiru agaknya kurang pas. Ketika Instagram Reels mencontoh TikTok sindiran pedas serupa tak terdengar kencang," ia menuturkan.
Selain itu, Apple juga banyak meniru fitur-fitur yang tersemat pada Android. Misalnya saja 'Always-on Screen' dan 'Swipe-to-type'.
"Yang terpenting adalah, software yang ditawarkan pabrikan China fungsional, familiar, dan cocok untuk kebutuhan audiens," Byford menegaskan.
Terkait Leica, ini bukan pertama kalinya vendor kawakan itu bekerja sama dengan perusahaan HP. Sebelumnya, Leica juga pernah bermitra dengan Huawei.
"Jika Anda membeli flagship Xiaomi dengan kamera Leica, seperti Xiaomi 13 Pro dan Ultra, Anda mendapatkan HP dengan kamera terbaik di dunia," ia menambahkan.