Lei Jun is impressive. Xiaomi’s marketing is spot-on, and his boasting rivals Jack Ma’s. Apparently, these days you really cannot survive without bragging. Functionally, MIUI does a very good job: phone services are handled in one place, contacts, text messages, and so on, with foolproof backups. Isn’t that what serving people is about? Everyone likes simplicity.

But the advantages of MIUI also worry me. Users become so dependent that they cannot let go. Could it become the next Tencent? Our messages and photos are all stored in Xiaomi’s cloud. Want to switch? I doubt Xiaomi will let its users go easily.

After all that, would I use a Xiaomi phone? I do not think I would. Why?

I think imitation is the problem. Everyone knows that the so-called MIUI is a heavily customized Android system. Put simply, it changes the interface and preinstalls a few apps, the so-called cloud.

Xiaomi arrived quickly. I have serious doubts about Android’s openness; it may disappear as quickly as it arrived. I am also pessimistic about Android’s future. The dependence of MIUI on it is especially clear. Android will die sooner or later, so where will MIUI go then? Microsoft? Apple? Or somewhere else?

The next round of “deep customization”?

I suppose that is my prediction for Xiaomi’s future.