Nokia Looks To Follow Xiaomi’s Trail To Conquer India Smartphone Market
HMD Globalrevived theNokiajourney in 2017 with a heavy dose of nostalgia and a rather streamlined portfolio of phones – the Nokia 3, Nokia 5, Nokia 6, andNokia 8. Almost all these devices were well-received in the market and it showed Nokia’s salience as a brand.
Back then, I expected the brand to maintain its lean smartphone line-up, but apparently, it had some other plans. HMD Global started droppingmultiple smartphones in and around the same price segment, making it difficult to keep a track of its product direction and the pricing puzzle. It’s an oddly familiar feeling – the same one we get from Xiaomi and its smartphone lineup.Durgesh Kukreti | Beebom
There’s a Redmi Phone For Everyone
Xiaomi, as we all know, is always doubling down on the success of itsRedmi seriesthat are usually priced betweenRs. 5,999 to Rs. 12,999. Believe it or not, there are as many as12 Redmi phoneson sale in India, including different storage and memory variants for each. And that’s of course without considering other Mi devices and the newPoco F1.
There’s literally no such thing as too many Redmi phones (at least that’s what I think), which sometimes make me wonder if it will cannibalize Xiaomi’s other phones.Xiaomi’s Redmi Series
While pretty much all the other manufacturers are following a more conventional strategy,HMD Global seems to be riding the same horse.
Nokia’s Odd-Ball Pricing
Let’s say you want to buy a Nokia-branded Android phone under Rs. 15,999. Then you might be tempted to go with the Nokia 6.1 Plus because that sounds like an obvious option, right? But there’s also theNokia 6.1which costs Rs. 500 less and offers a notch-less design (looks better in my opinion), Zeiss optics, and more.
If you look closely, even other phones like Nokia 5.1 Plus, Nokia 3.1, Nokia 3.1 Plus, 2.1 and fall under the similar odd-ball pricing. I believe even theNokia 7.1will arrive in India as a lucrative alternative to theNokia 7 Plusvery soon. So, unless you choose to pick up either theNokia 8 Sirocco(which happens to be the most expensive Nokia phone on sale right now), there always seem to beanother model in or around the same price pointand seemingly not too different either.Newly launched Nokia 3.1 Plus
Look, I know it’s always best to have a long list of options. In fact, when I had a chat with HMD Global’s Global Head of Portfolio,Pranav Shroff, about Nokia’s recent launches, he said,“It’s a happy problem to have.”He further defended the approach by insisting on how the portfolio targets a different audience (online and offline), etc. However, I feel that a broad selection makes ittediousto make a decision.
If you are shopping for a phone online and have, say, Rs. 12,000. You’d be picking up a Nokia 5.1 Plus. Offline shoppers, on the other hand, would be offered the newly launchedNokia 3.1 Plus. Yes, for the same price, you’ll be offered a phone with less powerful internal. It’s a congested and equally confusing market, in my opinion.Price comparison of Nokia 6.1 Plus & Nokia 6.1
So, is Nokia really following Xiaomi’s trail to tackle the Indian market? Well, if you ask me, it seems very much like it. Xiaomi has one (or even more) phone at every price point from Rs. 5,999 to Rs. 14,999. Of course, Nokia is not there yet, but it seems to be gunning for the same spot.
That being said, it is hard to argue with this approach, given that Xiaomi has managed toemerge as a juggernaut in Indiaand is off to a great start in the European market as well. So clearly, this non-conventional approach seems to be rewarding them. However, it remains to be seen if Nokia can use the approach to cover the ground that it lost over the last few years.
Karthik Iyer
Karthik is a Contributing Author for Beebom. Be it mobile devices, laptops, etc. he brings his passion for technology wherever he goes. When he’s not dwelling on the latest tech, you can usually find Karthik wasting time on Instagram or feeding his incessant obsession for video games.
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