How Xiaomi is disrupting India’s TV market?

How much does a 55-inches 4K HD LED TV cost? Well, till a month back this amount would have varied anywhere between Rs 80,000 to Rs 2,00,000. But thanks to Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi, you can now buy a 55-inches 4K LED smart TV at just Rs 39,999.

Xiaomi, the current leader of the India's smartphone segment is now creating ripples in the TV segment with its latest offering of smart TVs that are at least 2.5 times cheaper than equivalent Samsung TVs and even cheaper than other budget brands.

Xiaomi claims that its Mi TV 4 is the world's thinnest LED TV at just 4.99mm. This is the fourth generation TV that comes with a custom-built Samsung 4K SVA (superior vertical alignment) display panel with a 3840x2160 pixel resolution and a contrast ratio of 6000:1. It sports a brushed metal rear but houses all the drivers and other hardware in the lower half of the display. Powered by 64-bit quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM and 8GB storage along with Dolby audio, Mi TV 4 is an absolute killer in the segment.

"The way that we disrupted the smartphone market three years ago, today we want to disrupt the TV market. Give us a few years, we will redefine the rules of the game in the TV market,” Manu Jain, vice-president, Xiaomi, and managing director, Xiaomi India said at the launch.

Well, Jain wasn't wrong as the device was sold out in mere 10 seconds in its first sale. That's not all, the Chinese company has already expanded its offering with two new Mi TV 4A models that are more mass market driven. The Mi TV 4A range in India consists of two models- a 32-inch HD display and another with 43-inch full-HD panel priced at Rs 13,999, and Rs 22,999 respectively.

At the core of all three models is PatchWall, the Android-based UI that powers the AI-based smart functions of the Mi TV range. While the three TVs have common features and support the same apps, the 55-inch Mi TV 4 comes with some freebies that the more affordable models do not. These include free 3-month subscription for Sony Liv and Hungama Play, the Mi IR cable, and free on-site installation.

Whenever competition increases, usually consumer is the winner as we witnessed in the case of Telecom war that ensued post Reliance Jio's launch. Similar is the case in the TV market, as more and more brands are gearing up to match Xiaomi's products.

This week, Vu Televisions launched its first Android TV range in India including three models- 55-inch (55SU138), 49-inch (49SU131), and 43-inch (43SU128) priced at Rs 55,999, Rs 46,999, and Rs 36,999 respectively. The 4K Smart TVs operate on the latest and licensed operating system of Google’s Android 7.0 Nougat.

In the coming future, we can expect similar affordable offerings of smart TVs from other players also. Till then, let's wait and watch what new milestones Xiaomi achieves in India, this time in the TV market.