The new Redmi Note 8 and Redmi Note 8 Pro phones will come to India within the next two-three months, Redmi General Manager Lu Weibing said in an interaction with select media after the launch of the two phones in Beijing today. “We will of course have to get BIS regulatory approvals, which can take some time. We are also planning some local features for India, which will also take time,” he said explaining the India launch timing for Redmi Note 8 phones. Asked if Redmi Note 8 Pro would continue with the MediaTek Helio G90T processor in India, he indicated that the processor would remain the same. If this is indeed the case, then it would make the Redmi Note 8 Pro one of the first phones in the Redmi Note series to launch with a processor from MediaTek. So far, Redmi Note phones in India have come with processors from Qualcomm. Lu also confirmed that the 70-inch Redmi TV will indeed come to India, though he did not say when. “For sure we will launch the Redmi TV in India,” he said. Another reason for this is that Xiaomi’s Mi TVs are already available in India. The popularity of the Redmi brand could be a good reason why the company wants to introduce this new product in the Indian market as well. On why a separate Redmi TV was being introduced, given that Mi TVs were already dominating the market, Lu Weibing explained that the reasoning for this was the upcoming 5G rollout and IoT ecosystem. "In the future, the TV will be a very important hub for the home, especially with the IoT control and content. TV will change a lot, at least in the China market and maybe in other markets as well. But TV will become more and more important. For ecosystem perspective, the numbers are very important,” Redmi's General Manager said. “So one brand cannot do it alone. In China, we already have 24 per cent market share. If we want to go beyond that, we will need dual brand even in the TV segment. We will follow the same logic in oversees market, especially India, where dual brands are needed," he added. Also Read: Redmi Note 8 vs Redmi Note 8 Pro: What’s the difference? According to him, Redmi and Mi were being seen as targeting two different sets of customers, with Redmi for the younger audience while being budget friendly, while Mi series was aimed at more premium customers. He also said the teams were still in discussion regarding the dual brand strategy that should be adopted in India. In China, Redmi TV has been announced at Yuan 3799 or Rs 38,000 for a 70-inch screen with 4K resolution. If Redmi were to introduce the TV at a similar pricing in India, it would make it one of the cheapest smart TVs in such a size and resolution. Also Read: Redmi Note 8, Note 8 Pro launched; 64MP quad camera, Helio G90T processor With regard to the Redmi Book 14, the Redmi General manager said the company was still having internal discussions whether the product would come to India. “The group is still discussing whether to launch the Redmi Book in India,” he said. Disclaimer: The author is in Beijing at the invite of Xiaomi India
