Xiaomi says that the shoes will be able to sense whether a user is walking, running, or climbing, for a great overall view of your day’s activity.
Say hello to a new wave of wearables that is only starting to take off – the smart shoe. Even though this type of wearable has been on the market for some time now, like Under Armour’s SpeedForm Gemini series, Xiaomi’s announcement of the 90 Minutes Ultra Smart Sportswear shoe has really got tongues rolling.
Xiaomi’s racing forward
The reason for the tech community’s sudden interest in these running shoes? Xiaomi’s price point of 299 Yuan (or about S$62), which makes smart shoes an accessible piece of tech that anyone can get onboard with – unlike smartwatches which can set you back by an arm and a leg.
Cool Features
Teaming up with Intel for this incredibly-priced piece of tech, the shoes have the ability to track statistics like distance covered, calories burned, and the user’s speed.
How? Thanks to Intel’s minuscule Curie chip.
Xiaomi says that the shoes will be able to sense whether a user is walking, running, or climbing, for a great overall view of your day’s activity. Moreover, the shoes have been said to last up to 60 days on a single charge, which makes it more feasible than smartwatches, which require almost daily charging.
Even if you aren’t one to use the shoe’s technological abilities, the design of the shoes themselves come with anti-slip qualities, an arched heel design, and comfortable air cushioning. Unfortunately, the shoes are only available in the China market.
Xiaomi’s The Apple Of China?
One has to wonder, though, about Xiaomi’s recent expansion into areas other than their smartphone business, and what their actions are saying about the company’s future plans.
A deeper look into the company’s sales figures could be an indication. A report, released late last year by research firm IDC, shows that the “Apple of China” has taken a beating in their home market, with smartphones sales in the second quarter of 2016 falling a tremendous 38% year-on-year.
Moreover, in an interview with Reuters, Xiaomi ex-global VP Hugo Barra said that Xiaomi “could sell 10 billion smartphones and [the company] wouldn’t make a single dime in profits” as they are “recurring revenue streams over many years,” instead of yearly financial statements.
For a company once touted as the world’s most valuable technology startup, it is a worrying sign. Industry experts might have an idea about why the once almighty company and its unprecedented growth is coming to a screeching halt.
They view Xiaomi’s sales model, focusing on pushing out low-end smartphones to underdeveloped markets, as one that has no place to go but down. As smartphone users get more savvy and crave for faster and better, Xiaomi and it’s legion of cheap phones are no longer as attractive as they once were. Instead, users are moving on to companies like OPPO, Vivo, and Huawei, who promote themselves as makers of premium smartphones. A look at IDC’s aforementioned reports shows just that.
Xiaomi’s broadened scope – which now spans from their own proprietary processing chip to an entire range of smart home products, personal computers and even their The Pinecone Surge S1, an aggressive wearable range that rivals FitBit – seems like a desperate move to find a new revenue stream. With the bulk of the company’s current revenue coming from smartphone sales, however, the move might be a little too late.
