Xiaomi and Redmi part ways to operate independently as different brands: Report

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi said it will make Redmi an independent brand without revealing details behind reason to do so. Redmi was originally introduced as a budget smartphone line-up by Xiaomi in July 2013. anuncement essentially makes Redmi a sub-brand of Xiaomi.

According to reports, Xiaomi’s upcoming January 10 event in China will witness launch of first Redmi phone as an independent brand. company is expected to anunce a 48-megapixel camera sensor.

Xiaomi's affordable Redmi and Redmi te line-ups have been fairly popular, especially in countries like India. According to Lei Jun, Founder of company, reason behind splitting up Redmi and Xiaomi is "focus," reports GizmoChina.

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GizmoChina quoted Lei as saying on Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo:

"While Redmi brand focuses on value-for-money budget smartphones, Mi brand is focused on high-end devices. Also, Redmi devices are primarily sold through e-commerce platforms while Mi devices are t e-commerce focused."

Xiaomi is gearing up to anunce a new smartphone on January 10 which is believed to feature a 48MP camera. A new teaser p has gone live on company's Chinese website, according to which Xiaomi is releasing a new Redmi-branded phone next week in China.

Previously, a leaked teaser spotted on Weibo suggested that Xiaomi could be preparing to launch a new smartphone called Redmi Pro 2 in China. As per leaked teasers, powering Redmi Pro 2 could be Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 processor that essentially supports a 48MP camera.