Xiaomi's Sudhin Mathur Talks About Next Redmi Note Smartphone, AI, IoT Push, and 2026 Roadmap

 

Xiaomi India's strategy shift from value for money to value for experience was in motion this year, but 2026 has bigger plans. While 2025 was much about recalibration aimed at enhancing product experiences, with notable growth in the TV, tablets, and wearables categories, alongside a focus on clear consumer propositions for its sub-brands. If the latest IDC market report is any indicator, Xiaomi is well placed in the smartphone industry at third position, with a market share of over 13 percent, while Vivo and Oppo take the top two positions. Additionally, the brand is doing well in the tablet category, where it is again the third-largest tablet player in India, according to IDC's latest Q3 report.

In an exclusive chat with Gadgets 360, Xiaomi India COO Sudhin Mathur recapped 2025 and discussed the upcoming Redmi Note series, as well as AI and IoT products.

The Strategic Pivot

Mathur touched upon why Xiaomi India shifted from a 'value-for-money' to a 'value-for-experience' strategy. Talking about the 2025 strategy shift and recalibration, "2025 was a year of recalibration, I would say, not because we wanted it, but because the market is changing and consumers are changing as well."

In all these years, we have known Xiaomi as a brand that offers a value proposition from its products across categories, but that has to change, and Mathur rightly points out why. "Xiaomi, traditionally, as you know, has been known more for value for money, and that is now shifting from value for money to value for experience," he explains.

Further, he talks about how ASP has risen in India. "The ASP [Average Selling Price] has kind of jumped manifold in the last two years. The market is slowing down, from a volume point of view, but value-wise, it is going. Therefore, it is important for Xiaomi to recalibrate our India strategy."

On recapping 2025 and plans for 2026, Mathur gave a teaser of what we should expect, "This year [2025] is to establish Xiaomi more as a whole ecosystem player, still focusing on 'innovation for all' as our core principle," he said.

Touching upon one of the hottest topics lately for the Xiaomi group, Mathur summarised, "We have clearly and distinctly now started talking about our three sub-brands: the Xiaomi series, the Redmi series, and the Poco series. That is something that we started this year, and you will see more and more of that as we enter 2026."

What to Expect from the New Redmi Note

Since Xiaomi entered the Indian market, the Redmi Note series has been a key volume driver. We wanted to understand the improvements, timeline, and core selling proposition for the next major Note series, likely the Redmi Note 15, expected early next year.

On the upcoming Redmi Note, Mathur said, "[Redmi] Note has been one of our key mid-premium, flagship experiences... The improvements have to come based on what consumers are looking for."

He did drop some big news about software support for the upcoming Redmi Note series. "We are now promising four years of OS updates and six years of security patches. Now that gives them that level of reassurance that this phone is going to last me."

Also touching upon the pain points of consumers, Mathur added, "The pain points that they [consumers] had, even if it was a previous Redmi Note, have been kind of addressed in the coming Note series. And we are very hopeful that consumers will love the story that we have to tell."

Every year, we see Xiaomi taking a slightly different channel route for various Note phones. On being asked what we can expect for the next Note, Mathur explained, "We have pivoted to an omni-channel strategy. Omni-channel essentially means the same product, same price, same experience. You choose the channel yourself."

"We have doubled down on creating premium experiences also on the large format retail chain... where consumers go into these outlets specifically to touch and feel," he added.

Mathur hinted that the Redmi Note series, a critical volume driver, will see significant advancements in early 2026, with a focus on camera performance, battery life, screen brightness, and after-sales support.

AI in Redmi Note

Briefly touching upon AI in the upcoming Note series, Mathur added, "2026 stories will revolve a lot around this [AI]. Most of the AI features revolve around the camera, photo, and effects, all that stuff. But it's moving beyond that."

"Xiaomi is going to lead, especially in the mid category. The role of the Redmi Note series is to deliver premium experiences that consumers can get from Xiaomi. The learnings that we have from these products are now getting transferred into the mid-premium category as well, so that you still get a good value for money, but great experiences," he added.

Long story short, Mathur teased that Xiaomi would lead the mid-range category by moving AI features beyond the gallery bed, and that should be refreshing.

Xiaomi's 2026 IoT Push

Xiaomi has been a brand that has always offered an ecosystem of products across price ranges, but 2025 was different. We only saw products for mobiles, tablets, and TVs, making headlines. So, what to expect in 2026? Mathur, on IoT products, said, "While phones will remain as our main core business, our non-phone business, which is the TV, the tablets, the IoT devices... that is a part of our strategy to double down on."

"The problem is, I don't know how many people know Xiaomi makes [IoT products]. That is where we've started to talk more about it—create that whole ecosystem—that Xiaomi is not just a phone company," he added.

He also briefly touched upon regulatory challenges. Mathur said, "One of the reasons, obviously, is the new QCO [Quality Control Order] rules that the government has for BIS. That is kind of becoming a little bit of a bottleneck for us to launch new products."

We are just weeks away from 2026, which means Xiaomi's Redmi Note series launch isn't far away. Stay tuned to Gadgets 360 for all the news around the upcoming Redmi Note series.