Chinese smartphone vendor Xiaomi announced the spin off of its Poco smartphone sub-brand into a separate business, rebutting speculation in 2019 it was preparing to axe the range.
Xiaomi VP Manu Jain revealed the move in a tweet, noting the first device from the brand, the Pocophone F1, had proven “incredibly popular”.
Excited to share: #POCO will now be an independent brand!
What started as a sub-brand within Xiaomi, has grown into its own identity. POCO F1 was an incredibly popular phone. We feel the time is right to let POCO operate on its own.
Join me in wishing @IndiaPOCO all the best.
— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) January 17, 2020
The announcement lays to rest speculation the smartphone range could be ditched, which arose following the departure of Poco project manager Jai Mani in July 2019.
Xiaomi established the brand to buck the trend of slowing innovation and rising prices in smartphones. It released Pocophone F1 in August 2018, first in the Indian market for INR20,999 ($295) in base spec with 6GB of RAM and 64GB storage, before expanding availability to more than 60 markets globally.
In January 2019, Xiaomi spun off its Redmi sub-brand to focus on global expansion. Months later, the company also unveiled its CC range of smartphones, targeting younger user with a focus on design and camera capabilities.
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