Firsts are coming to the upcoming Xiaomi handsets. The Xiaomi 11T will be the first to drop the Mi branding and will offer longer-term use.
Xiaomi announced yesterday that the 11T series would get three generations of Android software upgrades and four years of security patches. The company hopes its users will “enjoy a better user experience and longer-term data security.”
This option isn’t available for any other Xiaomi smartphone at the time, but the company will “evaluate the possibility” of extending the Android OS support and security upgrades.
“It is not a simple task for Xiaomi and its team to provide system updates and security patches to all of its previous smartphone models,” said Albert Shan, head of Product & Technology for Xiaomi International.
“However, the prospect of this challenge and meeting the desires of our customers is exciting. On one hand, we’re once again fulfilling Xiaomi’s brand promise to its global users – to provide amazing products. On the other hand, gradually extending the service life cycle of Xiaomi smartphones is a progressive move that furthers Xiaomi’s sustainability and environmental responsibility goals.”
The company is also dropping the Mi brand to create two distinct product series, with the more affordable Redmi and the leading Xiaomi brand. Xiaomi plans to follow this naming convention for its ecosystem and Internet of Things products over time, too.