Xiaomi prepares for peak sales period with its new smartphone

Xiaomi Corp unveiled its latest flagship smartphone on Tuesday ahead of the autumn sales peak. Xiaomi founder and Chief Executive Officer Lei Jun (above) pledged to build the company into a "well-respected global brand". WANG JING/CHINA DAILY

Xiaomi prepares for peak sales period with its new smartphone

Xiaomi Corp unveiled its latest flagship smartphone on Tuesday ahead of the autumn sales peak, a critical period for the Beijing-based handset vendor to meet its target of shipping 60 million units.

Analysts said that China will remain Xiaomi's major market, although founder and Chief Executive Officer Lei Jun pledged to build Xiaomi into a "well-respected global brand".

The Xiaomi 4 will help the company achieve a new sales record worldwide, according to Lei.

The company said that with the introduction of the new device, its annual revenue is on track to stand at 70 billion yuan ($11.35 billion) to 80 billion yuan this year.

Tian Zheng, a senior researcher at local consultancy Analysys International, said this autumn will be an important period for Xiaomi to meet the second-half sales target.

China's smartphone market still offers plenty of potential even after years of high double-digit growth, said Tian.

"The market in China is big enough for companies such as Xiaomi to introduce a mid-end device and get a good consumer response," Tian said.