Xiaomi has restarted tablet business, will release new products this year, CEO says

Chinese tech giant Xiaomi says it has restarted its tablet business and will release new products this year, according to Lei Jun, founder, chairman, and CEO of Xiaomi.

Lei revealed the plan during a recent gathering with Xiaomi's fans. Every year when the Chinese Lunar New Year is approaching, Xiaomi organizes such events, hosting fan representatives at its headquarters.

Xiaomi has not released any new tablet since the release of the Xiaomi Tablet 4 in 2018.

In a comment section of Xiaomi’s Weibo — the Chinese version of Twitter on February 4, a user asked if Xiaomi could launch a tablet with stylus support, and Xiaomi's official Weibo account responded "yes".

The Xiaomi Tablet 4 is 8 inches in size and the Plus version is 10.1 inches in size and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 AIE processor.

The device has a screen resolution of 1920x1200, has a 4G LTE version which is convenient for users to watch videos.

In addition, Xiaomi will hire 5,000 engineers and increase R&D investment by 30-40% in 2021 from RMB 10 billion yuan last year, according to Lei.

In response to fans' suggestions for women's phones, Lei said Xiaomi will not make a purely female product line in the future but will design products that meet women's aesthetics and women's needs.

Xiaomi is working to improve the friendliness of Xiaomi phones for the female demographic by working on lightweight and appearance. Key positions such as design and R&D in related special projects have been taken up by female managers.

In the IoT business, Xiaomi will no longer make mediocre products, but build smart, high-end products that reflect innovation, Lei said.