Another ex-Google executive we all know as Jai Mani has joined Xiaomi, having been recruited by the Chinese OEM to take on the role of lead product manager in India. With the new addition to the Mi team in the country, we’ll hopefully see much smoother launches of future devices like the Redmi Note and Mi 4 which are expected to go on sale by the end of the year.
The company’s Vice President of global operations, Hugo Barra, was also part of the Google team and announced the arrival of the new head product manager on his Google+ and Facebook accounts. Barra notes that Jai Mani who worked for the search giant as a Google Play Strategy and Analytics Associate, has been relocated from San Francisco all the way to Bangalore to meet the demands of the new job.
Hugo Barra also says that Jai Mani has been present at multiple Nexus launches and Google’s annual I/O conferences as an on-stage demo performer. After touching down in India, he immediately went on duty by co-hosting a Mi fan meet-up in Bangalore.
Also read: OnePlus One to be launched in India this December
Xiaomi currently has two smartphones in the market here, the Mi 3 which has been discontinued and the Redmi 1S that’s still going strong with 100000 units up for grabs each Tuesday on Flipkart. As mentioned above, we expect to see the Redmi Note go on sale soon, but it doesn’t look like that it will happen before Diwali. And in December, the newest flagship called the Mi 4 will also make its way to the country.
Xiaomi is already facing some tough competition from local OEMs and even international brands like Asus and Motorola. But this is mostly in the entry-level and mid-range markets. And for the high-end category which the Mi 4 will fall into, Huawei has an attractively priced flagship, while OnePlus is soon to bring its popular One smartphone to India for Rs 20000.