Xiaomi price drop suggests new flagship devices are on their way

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi looks set to implement a price reduction drive across a number of its devices, increasing speculation that new flagship models will be released in the not-too-distant future.

According to a report by GizChina, citing Xiaomi's e-commerce webpage Tmall, several of the firm's products, including its Mi 4 smartphone and Mi Pad tablet have received new price tags.

Currently, the Xiaomi Mi 4 is priced at 1,999 Yuan ($327), but the Tmall listing suggests that this will drop to 1,799 Yuan ($294). However, the new prices are yet to be made official and are hidden within the web portal.

It is unclear what the price drop means for the Indian market, where the Mi 4 is not scheduled for release until early 2015. It is expected that the reduction will be passed on to consumers in the Asian country, meaning a retail price of around 18,000 rupees ($294).

Accompanying the news of Xiaomi's price reduction is a report suggesting the firm will update its existing smartphone range to Google's Android One initiative. Android One is a standard created by the search engine firm, providing software close to stock Android and security updates from Google itself.

A number of Indian smartphone brands including Micromax, Spice and Karbonn offer budget smartphones under the Android One banner. Prices for these handsets start from as little as 6,300 rupees ($102), almost matching the price tag of the Xiaomi Redmi 1S smartphone which launched in India last month for 6,000 rupees ($98).

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