\tThe departure of Xiaomi sub-brand Poco\u2019s project manager sparked speculation the Chinese vendor could ditch the smartphone range just shy of a year after releasing its first device.<\/p>\n
In an update to his Twitter profile, Jai Mani said he was now \u201cex-PM\u201d of the brand and Xiaomi India. He appeared to show an interest in future opportunities around healthcare and technology, stating direct messages around these, \u201cespecially mental health\u201d, were open.<\/p>\n
The head of Xiaomi India, Manu Jain, declined to be drawn on the future of the Poco brand, The Economic Times (ET) reported. While a representative later told the newspaper Mani\u2019s departure would not affect the sub-brand, IDC India research director Navkendar Singh commented the devices had received a mixed response.<\/p>\n
When launching the brand [1], Mani stated its mission was to buck the trend of rising prices in the smartphone market, with high-end features at affordable price points. The first model, Pocophone F1 [2], sported a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, 4000mAh battery, dual rear cameras with AI scene detection, and a liquid cooling set-up. Prices started at \u20ac329 in 6GB RAM and 64GB storage configuration.<\/p>\n
However, analysts told ET the focus of Poco overlaps with Redmi, which Xiaomi spun-out [3] into a separate sub-brand earlier this year. Last month, the vendor also detailed plans for a line of youth-oriented smartphones [4] under the CC moniker.<\/p>\n
Despite launching the F1 almost a year ago, India Today noted the vendor is yet to confirm if there will be a second device from the sub-brand.<\/p>\n
Exit
\nSeparately, Xiaomi global representative Donovan Sung also announced his departure after five years with the vendor.<\/p>\n
In a series of Twitter posts, Sung thanked Xiaomi\u2019s leadership team and pointed to the vendor\u2019s rapid rise, with expansion to more than 80 countries and displacing Samsung [5] as India\u2019s largest smartphone brand.<\/p>\n
Sung is taking up a role with Google in Singapore involving the web giant\u2019s mobile money play Google Pay.<\/p>\n[1] https:\/\/www.mobileworldlive.com\/devices\/news-devices\/xiaomi-india-targets-innovation-with-poco-sub-brand\/
\n[2] https:\/\/www.mobileworldlive.com\/devices\/news-devices\/xiaomi-presses-on-with-poco-brand-rollout\/
\n[3] https:\/\/www.mobileworldlive.com\/featured-content\/asia-home-banner\/xiaomi-spins-off-redmi-as-sub-brand\/
\n[4] https:\/\/www.mobileworldlive.com\/devices\/news-devices\/xiaomi-touts-youth-oriented-line\/
\n[5] https:\/\/www.mobileworldlive.com\/devices\/news-devices\/online-channels-drive-india-smartphone-growth\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The departure of Xiaomi sub-brand Poco’s project manager sparked speculation the Chinese vendor could ditch …<\/p>\n
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