Core Insights - Xiaomi is facing rising production costs for its smartphones due to increased memory chip prices, which has led to market disappointment regarding the pricing of the new Redmi K90 series [1][2]. Pricing and Product Strategy - The base model of the Redmi K90 starts at 2,599 yuan ($364), which is an increase from the previous K80 series priced at 2,499 yuan ($350) [3]. - To address consumer dissatisfaction, Xiaomi has temporarily reduced the price of the popular K90 model with 12 GB of memory and 512 GB of storage by 300 yuan ($42.10), bringing it to 2,899 yuan ($406.79) for the first month of sales [4]. Market Dynamics - The surge in demand for AI-focused chips has resulted in a shortage of traditional semiconductors, causing prices for conventional chips to rise sharply, benefiting memory manufacturers like Samsung and SK Hynix [5]. - Xiaomi is experiencing renewed competition from Apple in the Chinese market, with Apple's iPhone business reportedly recovering and expected to challenge Xiaomi with its upcoming 2026 iPhone lineup [6]. - In response to competition, Xiaomi launched its 17 Series in September, directly targeting Apple's iPhone 17 lineup with competitive features and pricing [7]. Investment and Development - Xiaomi's founder announced plans to invest at least 50 billion yuan ($6.93 billion) in chip design over a decade, with 13.5 billion yuan ($1.89 billion) already invested in developing its advanced XringO1 mobile chip [8]. - The chip design unit has grown to over 2,500 employees, indicating Xiaomi's commitment to achieving semiconductor self-sufficiency [8].