Beijing, Xiaomi headquarters. Lei Jun convened a meeting with his senior team to lock in plans for October's flagship release.
In the first half of the year, Xiaomi launched the Mi 5 as part of its core digital lineup, and the top configuration was priced at ¥3,999 (≈ $571). That pricing was Xiaomi's first genuine attempt to push the Mi number series into the high-end flagship tier.
The market response, though, was blunt. Overall sales for the Mi 5 and Mi 5S were solid, but the Mi 5 Pro underperformed, falling short of internal expectations.
The reason was not hard for Lei Jun to diagnose. Ever since the Mi number series debuted, it has been built on a value-first identity. Pricing typically sat between ¥1,999 and ¥2,999 (≈ $286 to $428), and it rarely crossed the ¥3,000 threshold. For consumers who had bought into that identity, asking them to pay nearly ¥4,000 for the same "number series" label felt like a sudden personality swap.
After turning it over again and again, Lei Jun reached the same conclusion: if Xiaomi wanted a real foothold in the premium market, and if it could not immediately replace the Mi number series as the company's mainstream line, then it had to change how it entered the high end. The cleanest direction was to launch an entirely new series positioned as premium from day one.
That was where Xiaomi ran into the same wall Huawei had faced. The domestic flagship market was getting crowded, and any October launch would not be competing in a vacuum.
Wen Lin, sitting beside Lei Jun, spoke up. "Mr. Lei, Huaxing Technology's Hongmeng X series can't be underestimated."
As Xiaomi's vice president, Wen had a clear picture of the current field. Huaxing was one of the manufacturers he feared most, in some ways even more than Xiaomi's long-time rival Huawei.
The reason was simple: Huaxing had three top-tier A-series processors. That alone was enough to pressure nearly every major phone maker in China. And this time, Huaxing was openly challenging the Samsung Note5, which likely meant it had poured serious resources into its third-generation Hongmeng X flagship.
With that information on the table, Wen couldn't help but hesitate. Part of him wondered whether Xiaomi should delay its own release to avoid a direct collision.
Lei Jun heard him out, then smiled. "When it comes to life and death, you don't flinch. If they won't yield, you fight. What's there to be afraid of?"
He looked around the room, taking in the caution on so many faces. "Not only are we launching in October, but we're also launching earlier than Huaxing."
For Lei Jun, it wasn't bravado for its own sake. Even if Huaxing's third-generation Hongmeng X threatened Xiaomi's lineup, he didn't have the luxury of retreat. The product was already built, the plan was already in motion, and he was confident in what Xiaomi had prepared. In his view, this was the strongest handset Xiaomi had produced in years.
Wen Lin watched Lei Jun's expression and finally nodded along. At this point, there was no road back. If Xiaomi wanted profits and market share, it had to commit fully.
Not long after, both Huawei and Xiaomi posted announcements through their official Weibo accounts.
"Huawei phones, see you on October 16."
"October 10. Xiaomi's brand new series, waiting for you to witness."
In Huaxing's offices, Heifeng Lu read both posts with an even expression.
The premium flagship market was a massive prize. It was only natural that Huawei and Xiaomi would refuse to miss their shot. Heifeng also understood that the coming wave of launches wasn't just Huaxing versus Samsung. It was a full-scale melee between Huaxing and every major domestic manufacturer.
He leaned back in his chair and murmured, more to himself than anyone else, "Now we'll see whether you can bring something that actually makes me feel threatened."
Heifeng welcomed the challenge. If Hongmeng X's third-generation flagship had no competitors, it would be harder to prove how strong it really was. The more manufacturers pushed back, the more it signaled that Huaxing's product had climbed high enough to be targeted.
Right now, Heifeng had only one goal: to make the third-generation Hongmeng X the undisputed ceiling of domestic flagship phones.
The National Day holiday ended in a blink, and Xiaomi moved first.
As a company with a powerful presence online, Xiaomi held its first major press conference after the holiday. It was the earliest high-end flagship launch event among domestic brands that year, and it pulled in enormous attention.
Xiaomi's configurations had always been aggressive, and its prices were usually reasonable. That combination gave it a loyal base. On top of that, Xiaomi had teased new details before the event, which pushed anticipation even higher.
The draw was immediate. As soon as the live stream went up, more than a million viewers tuned in online.
Heifeng watched as well, sitting in a conference room with Huaxing's senior executives. Xiaomi's keynote speaker was still Lei Jun, who was famously nicknamed a "singer" online.
This time, Xiaomi unveiled a new premium line: the Xiaomi MIX series.
Heifeng studied the positioning and had to admit it was the correct move. In consumers' minds, the Mi number series had become synonymous with value. Trying to force that same label into the premium segment would always face friction and would likely alienate some of Xiaomi's existing users.
Under the circumstances, launching a separate series to carry the premium banner was the cleanest solution, and Xiaomi MIX was that banner.
As Xiaomi presented it, the MIX was the company's first true high-end flagship, built with Lei Jun's full attention and backed by a concentrated allocation of resources. On paper, it outclassed the Mi 5 Pro that Xiaomi had released earlier in the year.
In terms of industrial design, the Xiaomi MIX used a 5.7-inch notched full-screen display. The back panel adopted an AG matte-frosted glass finish, paired with a metal frame.
The chipset choice also diverged from early online speculation. Viewers had guessed Xiaomi would use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 900, but Xiaomi instead announced a frequency-tuned variant, the Snapdragon 901.
As a minor upgrade over the Snapdragon 900, the Snapdragon 901 delivered a 10% performance boost, with a composite benchmark score exceeding 280,000.
Xiaomi framed the chip as a special customization jointly prepared with Qualcomm. More importantly, Lei Jun announced that Xiaomi had secured long-term exclusive access to Snapdragon 901, giving it a meaningful edge over other phone makers in the same window.