The history of one of the most popular Android smartphone manufacturers today is remarkable. Xiaomi was not born as a large ocean liner with a catalog full of mobile phones, no. It appeared as a result of a ROM based on Android which aimed to imitate the interface of Apple’s iPhone: MIUI.
Times have changed a lot. Currently, MIUI does not exist at the expense of the new HyperOS, with MIUI 14 being the latest version of its customization layer that we were able to test. And on the hardware side, the Xiaomi 14 took off at the beginning of the year, leaving a Original Xiaomi Mi 1 turns 13.
Xiaomi and its original Mi celebrate their thirteenth anniversary
Although Xiaomi started very low in smartphones, its success dates back to almost its beginnings. After popularizing MIUI as a ROM for different Android devices, they launched the smartphone market with a Xiaomi Mi 1 that recently celebrated its 13th anniversary, almost nothing.
In just 13 minutes (the numbers repeat themselves), he managed to sell up to 150,000 units, an insignificant figure for the current Xiaomi but very important for this small company of enthusiasts. Concretely, this first Xiaomi mobile was presented the same day August 16, 2011It has rained a lot since then.
Image: Xiaomi on Weibo
What was the claim of the Xiaomi Mi 1? The price, an aspect that has accompanied the brand for all these years, one of its characteristics: offering power and high-flying specifications without revolutionizing the budget. Of course, design was not one of its strong points, with plastic being abundant in its construction.
However, the dual-core Snapdragon S3 chip, 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal memory were unthinkable in a 1,999 yuan product. Currently, the exchange rate would be around 254 dollars, a budget that barely allows you to approach the mid-range at the moment.
In addition, it had a transflective LCD panel from Sharp, with a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels, unusual for the time in this price range. And it was compact: with dimensions of 125 × 63 × 11.9 millimeters and a weight of 149 gramsThe Xiaomi Mi 1 has won over the Chinese public and encouraged users around the world to join the brand.
The rest is a story we all know.. To celebrate this anniversary, Xiaomi has launched a contest on Weibo in which participants can win a Xiaomi Mix Fold 4, the latest foldable from the Chinese firm that we met last July. Unfortunately, it is exclusive to China, although it serves as an excuse to revive the legendary phone we talked about. What will Xiaomi become in the next 13 years? Only time will tell.
Cover image | Jon Russell on Flickr
In Xataka Android | You can thus access Xiaomi’s secret menu that tells you if your phone with HyperOS is working as it should
