Manu Jain explains why Redmi K20 smartphones are expensive

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SME Times News Bureau | 19 Jul, 2019
As smartphone users took to social media complaining about the high price of newly-launched Redmi K20 and K20 Pro, Xiaomi India Managing Director Manu Kumar Jain on Friday wrote an open letter to Mi fans on why these devices are expensive.

Redmi K20 Pro (6GB+128GB) is priced at Rs 27,999 while 8GB+256GB variant is available for Rs 30,999. Redmi K20 with 64GB storage is priced at Rs 21,999 and the 128GB variant will cost Rs 23,999.

The price of these smartphones has left many users disappointed as they were expecting the price to be somewhere around Xiaomi Poco F1 that started at Rs 20,999.

Some users complained that Redmi K20's India price is higher than the price in China.

"Realme X has a better chance now. Now most of them with <20k go with realme X. Pls don't cheat Indians in the name of honest pricing. Everyone knows @ what price it launched in China. Stop being oversmart," tweeted one user.

According to Manu, the specifications of both the devices are much faster than previous generation phones --Redmi K20 Pro is 45 per cent faster while Redmi K20 is 40 per cent faster.

"We realized while millions have shown interest in the product series, but there are a few who are critical of the pricing. Xiaomi has always actively sought feedback being able to listen to our users and exchange thoughts and ideas to essential to our though and operating process.

"We want to tell you that we worked day and night to ensure Redmi K20 series provided a truly flagship experience to all our consumers without compromises," wrote Jain.

He also highlighted some of the premium features in both the devices such as AMOLED display with hardware DC dimming, high-resolution DAC (digital-to-analog converter) that are usually available on phones priced between Rs 40,000-Rs 50,000.

"We are proud to manufacture these flagship devices in India, with nearly 65 per cent of the value of the smartphone being locally sourced. The remaining 35 per cent has to be imported leading to higher taxes for complicated components.

"This leads to a small pricing difference; there is only 3 per cent difference between the top-end variant (8GB+256GB) pricing between India and China," explained Jain.