Why Xiaomi is about to change the name of its smartphones

Xiaomi's little revolution had already started quietly with the recent Xiaomi Mix 4, but now it's official: the products will all be renamed

Xiaomi towards independence from... itself! Since the beginning of its experience in the various technological sectors in which it has operated, any product of the exuberant Chinese company has contained in the name "Mi". Examples are smartphones, such as the Mi 11, televisions, the Mi TV Lux, or electric scooters, the Mi Scooter, and so on.

In short, excluding Redmi, which for some years has become a company in its own right and Poco for which the same consideration applies, any product marketed by Xiaomi has always had the initials "Mi" in the name, as if it had been a brand. The first Xiaomi product to have made an exception was the recent Mix 4, which logically should have been called Xiaomi Mi Mix 4 and instead arrived (for now only in China) "simply" as Xiaomi Mix 4. Many puzzled looks in the direction of the latest top of the range for a seemingly incomprehensible choice, which however now finds an explanation: Xiaomi will make itself "independent" from the Mi acronym by gradually removing it from all its products.

Goodbye to the acronym Mi, from now on

The acronym Mi has been a constant for a decade (debut together with the first smartphone, the Mi 1 in 2011) for any product directly sold by Xiaomi, almost to become synonymous or an integral part of the brand itself. Which, however, over the years has grown, in recent months so quickly and importantly to put behind giants like Samsung and Apple for smartphones that have come to Italy, Europe and the world.

Xiaomi, in short, is on the launch pad, and evidently the latest commercial results must have given him an awareness of its means that he had never had before. So the company wants to emancipate itself from the acronym, Mi, that has always accompanied it and that perhaps, accompanying products of any kind, has also lost a little of its meaning.

This is not an indiscretion but an official will, so with the statement of a spokesperson of the company is already written, there are no uncertainties: from the third quarter of 2021, Xiaomi will say goodbye to "Mi" removing it from all products on the market, which thus will change slightly name, and from those that will come in the future.

"Starting in the third quarter of 2021, Xiaomi's "Mi" product series (Mi Series) will be renamed (simply, ed) to Xiaomi. The change will unify the brand's global presence and eliminate the different perception between the brand and its products. [...] The new name for the products - Xiaomi and Redmi - will also involve our ecosystem and internet of things (IoT) products over time," is the company's official note.

The demarcation between Xiaomi and Redmi

Note in which it is also written that the separation of the products will be defined exclusively by the brand, no longer by the line (or range, if you prefer): the Xiaomi-branded products will be on average more expensive and valuable than those of the other brands in the galaxy, while those sold by Redmi will aim at innovation at an affordable price and therefore will target a younger audience.

In the meantime, in China, the "revolution" has already started: in addition to the aforementioned Xiaomi Mix 4, the Xiaomi Mi 11 has also already been renamed Xiaomi 11.