China's popular Xiaomi smartphone company is diving into the country's low-end handset market with a new product, taking note of the rumors that Apple is preparing its own budget iPhone.
On Wednesday, Xiaomi unveiled its new "Red Rice" phone for the no-contract price of 799 yuan ($129). It has a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor from MediaTek, a 4.7-inch, 1280 by 720 pixel screen, and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera.
Although not well-known outside China, Xiaomi has gained major name recognition in its home country, partly by selling Android handsets with high-end specs, but at low prices. Its flagship phones have gone for the price of 1999 yuan ($329), less than half of what it costs to buy a no-contract iPhone.
With its new Red Rice phone, Xiaomi is bringing down the price of its handsets even further to target China's low-end handset segment, where phones can be sold at 1000 yuan or cheaper. In a news release, the company also referenced reports pointing to Apple launching a cheaper iPhone in September.
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