Today is a memorable day for Xiaomi and its many fans—the Xiaomi smartphone celebrates its 15th anniversary.
Wang Xiaoyan, Senior Vice President of Xiaomi Group and President of China Region, posted today: "Today is Xiaomi smartphone's birthday. Let's wish Xiaomi smartphone a happy 15th birthday together."
Let's go back to August 16, 2011, when the first-generation Xiaomi phone was officially released, priced at 1,999 yuan.
Since then, "1,999 yuan" has become one of the most representative price tags for early Xiaomi phones, continuing through multiple generations of Xiaomi's digital flagship series.
In the Chinese smartphone market at that time, mid-to-high-end products were generally expensive. Overseas brands like Apple, Samsung, Sony, and LG held strong market positions, while domestic smartphone brands were still in a rapid growth phase.
The first-generation Xiaomi phone quickly garnered significant consumer attention with its price tag of 1,999 yuan and competitive hardware specifications at the time, propelling the domestic smartphone market into a new phase of competition.
According to public information on Xiaomi's official website, pre-orders for the Xiaomi phone officially opened on September 5, 2011, with over 300,000 units reserved within two days.
Subsequently, Xiaomi phone sales grew rapidly. By early March 2012, cumulative sales had surpassed 1 million units; by June 7 of the same year, sales exceeded 3 million units.
At his annual speech in 2021, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun stated, "Ten years ago, the Mi 1 went on sale. Priced at 1,999 yuan, with 184,600 units sold, generating 370 million yuan in revenue. This was Xiaomi's first income. With this revenue, we achieved rolling development, leading to our current position as a Fortune Global 500 company and the world's second-largest smartphone manufacturer."
Lei Jun also announced that the purchase price of 1,999 yuan for the first batch of Xiaomi Mi 1 users would be refunded in the form of red envelopes, which can be used to purchase Xiaomi products without any restrictions.
From the first-generation Xiaomi phone in 2011 to today's lineup covering digital flagships, REDMI, and other product lines, Xiaomi smartphones have come a long way over the past 15 years.
That Xiaomi phone, priced at 1,999 yuan back then, has become one of the most representative products in the history of Chinese smartphones.