Xiaomi 15 was released just before Singles' Day. Similar to previous media predictions, Chinese mobile phone manufacturers tend to launch new mobile phone products more intensively in the fourth quarter. This is also the reason why the industry believes that Apple's iPhone 16 series will suffer a significant impact in the Chinese market. Moreover, the latest data released by data institutions also shows that in the third quarter, Apple's market share in China fell out of the top five again, indicating that sales were not ideal.

The market believes that Apple can gain a significant sales share during the promotional period of Singles' Day in China in the fourth quarter due to its price cuts, which are not insignificant. However, Chinese mobile phone companies will successively launch new products in the fourth quarter, and the pricing of these products is likely to become a focal point of competition with Apple. More importantly, the purchasing trends and options of Chinese mobile phone users have also changed, and the sales changes of local mobile phone manufacturers will also share a slice of the market, making competition even fiercer.

On October 29, Xiaomi 15 was officially released. Interestingly, before the release of Xiaomi 15, the market was most concerned about its price, indicating that many people care about pricing. Ultimately, equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, a 5400mAh battery, and three Leica high-speed lenses, the phone starts at a price of 4499 yuan; the 16GB+1TB version is priced at 5499 yuan. The Diamond Limited Edition of Xiaomi 15 is priced at 5999 yuan.

Before the press conference, the market had already rumored that the price of Xiaomi 15 would increase slightly. Ultimately, Xiaomi officially launched the Xiaomi 15 series, including the Xiaomi 15 Standard Edition, Xiaomi 15 Shiny Silver Edition, Xiaomi 15 Custom Edition, Xiaomi 15 Diamond Custom Edition, and Xiaomi 15 Pro Edition. Among them, the starting price of the Xiaomi 15 Standard Edition is 200-500 yuan higher than that of the previous generation; the starting price of the Xiaomi 15 Pro is 300-500 yuan higher than that of the previous generation.

Regarding the price increase, Lei Jun said, "Last year, I told you that Xiaomi 14 was definitely the last time we priced it at 3999 yuan. This year, with the 3nm process upgrade, the costs of supply chain RAM and ROM have increased significantly, and we have invested heavily in research and development. Therefore, Xiaomi 15 does need a price increase." In other words, Xiaomi's price increase this time is the result of the "superposition of comprehensive factors." However, as market expectations become increasingly sensitive to prices, will the price increase affect sales?

We can see that both Apple and Huawei have adjusted their mobile phone prices. With the start of Singles' Day, Apple has clearly launched a profit-sharing promotion, with price changes being the biggest selling point. Previously, some Huawei products have also made price adjustments. This also indicates from another angle that in the Chinese market, mobile phone prices have become a prerequisite that cannot be ignored when users make their choices. If the price is too "outrageous," users may reluctantly choose to abandon the product. This is slightly different from the past.

According to Lei Jun, Xiaomi's price increase was also a necessity as the collective price increase in upstream supply chain components, such as semiconductors, was the main reason for the price increase of the Xiaomi 15 series. The SoC chip, Xiaomi 15 series, is the first to use Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite. Guo Mingqi previously revealed that the cost of a single Snapdragon 8 Elite chip reaches $180 (approximately RMB 1281). The average price of DRAM memory chips is expected to increase by about 53% in 2024 and will continue to rise by 35% in 2025.

Interestingly, Xiaomi Hyper Connect fully supports Apple devices, allowing users to transfer files and pictures between Xiaomi and Apple devices by installing the "Xiaomi Interconnect Service." Moreover, Xiaomi 15 is benchmarked against the iPhone 16. Market analysts believe that "domestic mobile phones priced around 4500 yuan this year will still occupy a large share of the domestic market of Apple phones." Xiaomi 15 Pro is equipped with Xiaomi Xingchen Communication System, supporting Xingchen AI antenna selection, Xingchen AI multi-network fusion, and 5G-Advanced cellular standards. It also runs on Xiaomi Pengpai OS 2.