Why Xiaomi And Google Making Android Phone is Good News for All

Xiaomi making a Mi phone with stock Android sounds like everyone’s dream, affordable device.

Xiaomi makes quality smartphones at affordable price points and that endears them to Indian consumers. Xiaomi, over the years, has picked up the culture of ‘ value for money’ and ended up outdoing the local-based mobile manufacturers and even Google, who’ve tried their luck with Android One smartphones couple of years back.

So, when reports talk about Xiaomi and Google coming together to make the latest edition of Android One phones, we couldn’t stop but think, what a match this could be, and here’s why:

Xiaomi-Google: The Stock Android Match

Xiaomi’s adopted Android but very differently from how Google did it. They heavily customised the open source variant of Android called AOSP and designed it in a variant called MiUi.

Their heavy leg work on every Android flavour means Mi phone buyers are playing the waiting game to get the latest Android versions running on their devices.

But with Android One phone made by Xiaomi, they’ll have no option but to go with the stock Android version, which means quick Android updates is in the offing for buyers.

Many people feel that Xiaomi opting for stock Android for its future Mi devices could not only ensure latest version roll-outs but a definite performance boost as well.

Android One - Missed the Indian Smartphone Boat

While there no numbers which tell us if the previous Android One (AO) projects have been successful in India or not, Google’s rollback on the initiative does speak for itself.

India is the largest market for mobiles, and growing further, there are numerous brands looking to make inroads while giants like Apple are tweaking their strategy to work in a country like ours.

All this reflect that Google has somehow missed out on capturing a big market share in the hardware ecosystem, which is still achievable if they partner with a brand that can deliver on value and quality.

Android's Presence Grows Multi-fold

With over 96% of consumers in India having Android-powered devices, Google hasn’t been able to ignore the fact that majority of these are still running on outdated Android versions.

The supposed Mi Android One device would not only help them offer a product at the sweet price point ($150 is the go-to mark) but also help increase the number of devices running latest flavours.

This way, Google could narrow down the gap in the mobile OS version battle with Apple, which continues to have over 80% Apple devices running on the latest iOS version. And unlike the high-end Pixel and the mid-range Nexus devices, Google stands a better chance to close the gap with AO in its sights.

Android One > Nexus or Pixel

Nexus was definitely a bigger success than Google’s high-end Pixel devices. But everyone agrees that in India, AO stands an even better chance to succeed. If Xiaomi-Google manages to price its rumoured device within the $150 (Rs 9,600 approx) mark, buyers would jump at the chance of going for a clean Android Mi device.

Few years back, most of us wanted Nokia to make an Android phone, and now that HMD Global has pulled it off, it’s time Xiaomi laps it up with stock Android in tow.

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