Xiaomi prepares for peak sales period with its new smartphone

Lei Jun, Chairman and CEO of Xiaomi Technology and Chairman of Kingsoft Corp, delivers a speech to introduce the Xiaomi 4 smartphone on the stage at a launch event of Xiaomi in Beijing, China, July 22, 2014. [Photo/IC]

Total smartphone shipments in China reached 360 million in 2013, with the majority of the units costing less than 3,000 yuan, according to Analysys.

At Tuesday's launch, Lei delved deeply into the manufacturing details and technological complexity of the device in hopes of impressing the media and fans with the company's "exquisite" craftsmanship.

"We always wanted to make a product that is better than [Apple Inc's] iPhone. Xiaomi 4 is the latest evidence that we can pull it off," said Lei.

The iPhone-quality manufacturing prowess is a savvy promotional slogan with which Xiaomi can lure overseas buyers, especially as the company attempts to enter foreign markets, analysts said.

The company kicked off its business in India last week in a bid to lift profit margins. Xiaomi now sells devices in Southeast Asia, where the competition is less intense than in developed markets.

Building up the user numbers for its own interface platform in the early stages will be a critical step for Xiaomi to establish an overseas market base, Peng said.