As Xiaomi upgraded its flagship profile in the country with a new K20 series, its other popular Poco division is reportedly being shut down. The Poco senior executive director has left, and the parent company is yet to announce a replacement.
While Redmi K20 series sprawls across the upper mid-range and entry-premium segment, we may never see a new Poco again.
The company launched a new sub-brand to take on affordable flagships across the globe. The first smartphone under Pocophone series, the Poco F1 did really well, especially in the country. The smartphone continues to sell in India, and is currently the cheapest Snapdragon 845 smartphone in the world.
But, the recent exit of a senior official and probability of contradiction with Redmi K20 series may lead to a silent death of Poco brand.
The Poco brand only produces entry-flagship smartphones. So, the company could either launch a flagship, or not bring in anything. The company started with an aim to challenge the likes of smartphones produced by OnePlus and upper mid-range devices from other brands.
While the parent company Xiaomi is yet to confirm anything officially, the Poco brand may subsequently be discontinued.
Poco Series May Be Discontinued: What Went Wrong?
As Xiaomi unveiled the K20 series in the country, there has already been a ton of questions whether any Poco smartphone would launch in the future or not. Xiaomi previously had a single flagship in the sub-20,000 segment, and Poco F1 single-handedly challenged some of the top entry-level premium flagships in the country.
With Redmi K20 series now taking up the challenge on its own, it will now compete against other flagships in the space.
So, will the company need a Poco F2 anymore to challenge other flagships with Redmi K20 Pro at place?
That’s the million dollar question right now.
Just after Redmi K20 series went official in India, Jai Mani, one of the top executives of POCO left the company to join Google Pay team in Singapore. The newly launched premium Redmi K20 series may get into the shoes of Poco F1 to carry on with its legacy. As K20 series is also priced very aggressively, there are even bigger doubts on whether any Poco will launch in the future or not.
Targeting The Same Segment: Whom To Choose?
Poco F1’s primary aim was to challenge high-end smartphones with its ultra-affordable price tag. The newly launched Redmi K20 series also does the same, just with a bit higher pricing. While Poco F1 compromised in a few departments as design, display and overall ergonomics, the new K20 series fill in the gap smartly.
The Redmi K0 series are true flagships, and the company this time hasn’t compromised on any sort of specs and design.
This would be the biggest reason why there’s no need of any Poco to challenge other premium smartphones. The Redmi K20 Pro will take care of competitors above Rs 25,000, while the regular Redmi K20 will challenge smartphones around sub-20,000 segment.
Also, Xiaomi India head Manu Kumar Jain have repeatedly resisted from commenting on anything related to the next Poco smartphone. So, the future of the brand does hang in suspicion for now. In other news, a Xiaomi official has reportedly said an official leaving the POCO team doesn’t necessarily mean it’s being shut down.
The last Pocophone, Poco F1 was announced in August. So, we further need to wait for a few more weeks to know what will happen.