That iPhone wasn’t a mistake. It was the product demo.
The phone appeared during Xiaomi’s reveal of their new UltraThin Magnetic Power Bank, a MagSafe-compatible (magnetically snaps onto your phone) accessory explicitly built for iPhones. It’s tested on every iPhone from the 12 through the 17. Xiaomi’s own product page even has a legal disclaimer that iPhone imagery is “for compatibility demonstration purposes only.” They showed an iPhone because the product is designed for iPhones.
But the real story is what else Xiaomi announced at this same MWC keynote. Alongside the Xiaomi 17 series, they’re rolling out iOS Bridge in HyperOS 3.1, which lets iPhone calls appear on Xiaomi tablets, syncs AirPods natively with Xiaomi devices, and enables direct wireless file sharing between iPhones and Xiaomi hardware. No third-party apps needed.
Why would the “Apple of China” build its ecosystem around Apple users? Because Apple users are already its biggest customers. 56% of Xiaomi SU7 electric car owners are iPhone users, a stat that surprised even CEO Lei Jun. At the YU7 SUV launch last year, Lei told the audience: “Since Apple stopped developing its car, we’ve given special care to Apple users.” He followed that with an internal mandate requiring all Xiaomi smart home and auto products to support Apple devices.
The strategy makes sense when you look at the numbers. Xiaomi holds 16% of Europe’s smartphone market but sells way more than phones: tablets, laptops, TVs, smart home gear, electric cars. If premium consumers already own iPhones, you can either fight Apple for the phone or sell everything else to Apple’s users. Xiaomi chose door number two.
This is a complete 180 from 2014, when Apple’s Jony Ive called Xiaomi’s designs “theft.” Back then, Lei Jun did keynotes in Steve Jobs-style black turtlenecks, earning the nickname “Leibos” (Lei + Jobs). The playbook was simple: build Apple lookalikes at a fraction of the price, with margins reportedly under $7 per device versus Apple’s $70. Fifteen years later, Xiaomi is a $137 billion company, the world’s third-largest phone maker, and its SU7 Ultra just set the Nürburgring lap record for fastest production electric car. It doesn’t need to copy Apple anymore. It just needs Apple’s customers.
🚨 BREAKING:
Imam of the Kaaba made this dua for
marriage at the end of Tarawih prayer!
O Allah, do not leave any single person
without granting him/her a spouse.
Repost this and say AMEEEEEEEEEEEN.
🇮🇪 Ireland just turned the former Israeli embassy into a museum for Palestine.
Not just a political move a cultural statement.
From silence to solidarity.
Respect to the Irish people.
🖤🇮🇪🇵🇸FreePalestine