Company VP Hugo Barra said that Xiaomi is interested in Google's Android One initiative and would like to launch such a device, running stock Android.
Chinese upstart Xiaomi has been full of surprises this year. Well, there’s more to come. According to ex-Googler and Xiaomi Global VP, Hugo Barra, the company may soon be a part of the Android One initiative and launch such a device. Barra told The Next Web that his colleagues at Xiaomi are big fans of Android One and want to be a part of Google’s initiative. He didn’t say anything about whether or if Xiaomi would ultimately build Android One devices.
Further, Barra also said that all of Xiaomi’s top-of-the-line Mi phones will get the Lollipop update, with the Redmi devices following suit. In a recent launch event at Delhi, Barra had said that Xiaomi is currently working on the Android 5.0 update. MiUI will obviously need to be tweaked quite a bit in order to fit the new material design interface. The company went with a very Apple-like UI in its new MiUI 6 interface.
The Android One devices are aimed at the budget segment, which means that a Xiaomi device would be even more aggressively priced. The company has made a name for itself, by selling devices at low margins and cutting down on advertisement costs in order to keep prices lower.
Xiaomi made its entry into India back in July, with the Xiaomi Mi3, which has now been discontinued. This was followed by the Redmi 1S, which is likely to be discontinued from December 2, when the company starts selling the Redmi Note device.
Source: TheNextWeb
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