Chinese product in Indian pockets!

Move over Apple and Samsung. It’s time for a Dragon invasion! Not literally though, but figuratively it could be as massive as a dragon itself. I am talking about Chinese smartphones in Indian market.

An year or two ago, only a handful knew about Xiaomi, OnePlus, Oppo. Now, a significant proportion of the smartphone crazy consumers are aware of these brands preferably due to favorable reviews. But these products are Chinese. Why take a leap of faith and move over the Samsung’s / HTC’s / Apple’s of the world to buy a Chinese smartphone?

For one, they have almost all the features present in the flagships of top smartphone manufacturers. Still not convinced? Let’s try again – they sell for almost 1/3rd of the price of these flagships! Are you now looking at me with suspicion? “What’s the catch?” you may ask. There’s no catch at all. These are new companies who have adopted new selling models which significantly reduce the cost of the smartphone. Their model is to sell online using flash sales at minimum marketing cost (at least till they establish themselves). So, I can understand if you have not heard about the brand but their operating strategy makes it very difficult to reach you unless you are in touch with a smartphone crazy friend. 

Last to last week, I finally crossed the “Invite Only” hurdle to buy OnePlus One. They sell this brand online and through word-of-mouth marketing. Tech savvy consumers / reviewers buy the phone at near-cost price, love the specs and provide their feedback (mostly positive). I have now used it for almost 2 weeks now and must admit, using OnePlus One is a breeze. But I took a leap of faith on the durability aspect. Only time will answer my query.

If my gut-feel on these Chinese products aren’t enough, Ratan Tata has now invested significantly in Xiaomi! There must be some logic to the Chinese smartphone madness right? All this points to only one thing, your next flagship smartphone will have stiff competition with Chinese ones and chances are that you will buy the Chinese smartphone (after all, pricing matters to Indian consumers).

Click here for the detailed article I wrote for IdeasMakeMarket.com with respect to this topic.  Do read and let me know your thoughts.