Huawei's high-end Xiaomi is affordable, and the brand positioning is very different, what is the future pattern?
Huawei and Xiaomi, as the two major mobile phone brands in China, have obvious differences in brand positioning. Huawei has been adhering to the high-end route for many years, and the price of flagship models is often more than 5,000 yuan, focusing on creating a high-end flagship image. Xiaomi, on the other hand, focuses on cost performance, with product lines covering all price ranges from thousand-yuan machines to flagship machines, but the main force is still concentrated in the low-end market.
Huawei's ability to occupy a place in the high-end market is inseparable from its strong technical strength. In 2022, Huawei's R&D expenditure reached more than 160 billion yuan, accounting for more than 22% of the year's revenue, much higher than the industry level. Huawei's massive R&D investment has enabled Huawei to innovate independently, especially in the fields of 5G, 6G, chips, and operating systems.
Taking 5G communication technology as an example, Huawei is one of the major contributors to the global 5G standard, and occupies a leading position in the field of 5G base stations and chips. Huawei's 5G base station equipment and chip products are widely used around the world, making significant contributions to the construction of global 5G networks. Huawei has also invested heavily in research on cutting-edge 6G technologies, striving to maintain its leading edge in the future 6G era.
In the field of mobile phone chips, Huawei has also made great progress. The self-developed Kirin chip has always been at the forefront of the industry in terms of performance, and has performed well in artificial intelligence, image processing, etc. Even when it was sanctioned and could not use the Android system, Huawei still launched a number of new flagship phones with the HarmonyOS operating system and its own chips, fully demonstrating its strong independent innovation strength.
Unlike Huawei, which focuses on technological innovation, Xiaomi pays more attention to marketing and cost performance. Xiaomi started out in the thousand-yuan market, directly facing consumers through online channels, reducing the cost of intermediate links, so that it can provide relatively high performance at a lower price. Although Xiaomi mobile phones occupy a certain share in the low-end market, it has been difficult to compete head-on with brands such as Huawei, Apple, and Samsung in the field of high-end flagship phones.
In recent years, Xiaomi has also increased its layout in the high-end market. The release of new flagship phones such as the Xiaomi 12 Pro demonstrates Xiaomi's innovative strength in imaging and charging. But overall, Xiaomi's investment and accumulation in core technologies such as chips and operating systems still cannot be compared with Huawei.
The difference in brand positioning has also directly led to a huge gap between Huawei and Xiaomi in terms of market share. According to the statistics of Fang Data Agency, Huawei's share of the domestic mobile phone market in 2022 will be as high as 27%, ranking fourth, while Xiaomi ranks fourth with a share of 14.2%. This fully reflects the obvious gap between the brand influence of the two companies in the minds of domestic consumers.
Huawei's leading position in the high-end market is largely due to its investment in the Mate series of flagship phones. Since its inception, the Mate series of mobile phones has been positioned by Huawei as its flagship product line, focusing on Huawei's most advanced technological innovations. Whether it is Kirin chips, Leica imaging systems, or folding screens and other black technologies, the Mate series is the first to be introduced and commercialized on a large scale.
With outstanding hardware strength, the Mate series of mobile phones has maintained a leading position in the high-end flagship market. According to industry data, in 2022, the share of the Mate series in the high-end flagship market above 5,000 yuan will be as high as 35%, far exceeding competitors such as Apple and Samsung. This has undoubtedly further enhanced Huawei's brand image in the minds of high-end consumers.
Unlike Huawei's strong performance in the high-end market, Xiaomi's market share in this area is relatively limited. Although Xiaomi has also launched some flagship models with high-end positioning, such as the Xiaomi 12 Pro, overall, the market performance of Xiaomi's flagship phones is not ideal.
The reason why Xiaomi is difficult to break through in the high-end market is largely due to its shortcomings in core technology. Although Xiaomi has some innovative attempts in the fields of imaging and charging, there is still a big gap between it and Huawei and other leading manufacturers in core technologies such as chips and operating systems. This directly leads to the lack of hardware strength of Xiaomi's flagship phone, and it is difficult to win the favor of high-end consumers.
Xiaomi's performance in the low-to-mid-end segment is relatively good. With its excellent price/performance ratio, Xiaomi phones have long occupied a leading position in this field. According to statistics, in 2022, Xiaomi's share of the low-end market below 3,000 yuan will be as high as 28%, far ahead of other brands. This is also the main reason why Xiaomi was able to rank in the domestic mobile phone market.
Huawei and Xiaomi's competitive landscape in the high-end market will also be interpreted. On the one hand, Huawei's strong technical strength and brand influence will continue to maintain its leading position in the high-end flagship market. With the continuous development of new technologies such as 5G and 6G, Huawei's innovative advantages in these areas will be further highlighted.
On the other hand, Xiaomi is also increasing its layout in the high-end market. In addition to launching a new generation of flagship models, Xiaomi is also increasing investment in research and development, striving to achieve breakthroughs in core technologies such as chips and operating systems. If Xiaomi can make breakthroughs in these areas, it is expected to further improve the hardware strength of its flagship phones, thereby taking a share of the high-end market.
To truly catch up with Huawei in the high-end market, Xiaomi still faces a lot of challenges. On the one hand, Huawei has occupied a relatively stable position in this field, and it is difficult to be shaken in the short term. On the other hand, Xiaomi, as a latecomer, has a certain gap in terms of brand image and technology accumulation, and needs to pay more time and resources.
In the future, the competition pattern between Huawei and Xiaomi in the high-end market may show a situation of "one super and many strong". Huawei will continue to maintain its leading position, while brands such as Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo will strive to overtake in the future. The formation of this pattern will also further promote the innovation and development of the domestic mobile phone industry, so that consumers can get more and better choices.