In a social media post, Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun announced the company’s intentions to compete with Apple on a war footing. Xiaomi is a budget and mid-range focused brand but Jun says the company will now pivot towards the market for high-end smartphones.

In a Weibo post, Jun said Xiaomi will try to fill in the shoes of Huawei — China’s largest smartphone maker until it was hit by legislation preventing business relations with US companies. The CEO also said the Chinese smartphone giant wants to become the world’s largest smartphone vendor in three years. He claimed it would rival Apple’s product (the iPhone) and experience. He called the Xiaomi-Apple rivalry in the high-end smartphone market “a war of life and death.”

Xiaomi has already established itself as a market leader in the mid-range and budget smartphone segments. Its sales volumes outstrip the likes of Vivo, Huawei, and other Android-based smartphone manufacturers but it is second only to Apple. Market research firm Strategy Analytics reported that in Q3 2021, Apple shipped the most 5G phones worldwide while Xiami was a close second.

Like virtually every other smartphone maker, Xiaomi has been held back by supply chain difficulties over the last two years. It has a few offerings in the premium segment but they aren’t exactly going for Apple’s jugular. However, Xiaomi’s investments and statements suggest otherwise. It is reportedly betting big on retail expansion in China with 20,000 new stores planned for the coming three years, bringing the total retail presence to 30,000 stores. The company is also pouring around $16 billion into research and development efforts over the next five years. Meanwhile, Samsung has also outlined a “Tiger” strategy to take the battle to Apple’s doorstep in the US.

To take on Apple, Xiaomi’s plan reportedly revolves around a user experience that’s unlike any other Android smartphone maker. Do you think the company will succeed? Tell us in the comments section below.