After announcing smartphone’s, tablet and some other set of products, today in an event in China, the company has announced a new sub-brand, Mi-Ecosystem for its IoT products. Company has already announced a couple of IoT products and from now onwards all IoT products will be placed under this new sub-brand, and to start with, today Xiaomi announced a new lineup in China called ‘MIJIA’, which translates to Xiaomi Smart Homes.
Mi Induction Heating Pressure Rice Cooker is Xiaomi’s first product under the new “Mi Ecosystem” sub-brand at 999 Yuan which is around Rs 10,200, and it allows you to control rice cooking via an app, and it will be available for sale on Mi.com in China during Mi Fan Festival on April 6.
Mi Induction Heating Pressure Rice Cooker employs a magnetic relief valve to precisely control the pressure inside the rice cooker to 1.2 times the atmospheric pressure, corresponding to an ideal boiling point of water at 105 degree Celsius, which results in more flavourful rice. Mi Induction Heating Pressure Rice Cooker also uses electromagnetic heating technology for higher thermal efficiency and to ensure even cooking.
Mi Induction Heating Pressure Rice Cooker is a WiFi-enabled smart gadget that can be controlled via the Mi Home app. For example, users can scan their pack of rice to identify the type of rice, brand and origin, and based on that, the rice cooker can adjust its heating methodology to best suit the type of rice. It currently supports more than 200 brands of rice, and this will be expanded in the future. Users can also set their personal preferences within the app.
To build the Mi Ecosystem, Xiaomi has so far invested in 55 companies that design and manufacture products beyond its three core product categories: smartphones, smart TVs and smart routers. Among these, 29 companies including Zhimi (which makes the Mi Air Purifier) and Viomi (which makes the Mi Water Purifier) have been incubated by Xiaomi from their founding.
Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun started exploring the ecosystem business model two years ago with a mindset to “promote an upgrade in Chinese manufacturing with a new concept of ‘Made in China’ products”. Rather than simply being a venture company, Xiaomi imparts to these companies its approach to making quality products, sharing its methodologies and existing resources, including supply chain, e-commerce, marketing and branding.
