Xiaomi to spin off POCO as an independent brand; POCO F2 launch seems imminent

Published On: January 17, 2020

“Xiaomi has announced that POCO will become its own entity, complete with its own team and go to market strategy”

Xiaomi on Friday announced that POCO will be spun off into an independent brand. To recall, POCO launched in 2018 as a sub-brand of Xiaomi, much like Redmi. Now, Xiaomi has announced that it will be separating from POCO and the latter will become its own entity complete with its own team and “go to market strategy,” the company said in a press statement. Xiaomi Global VP Manu Kumar Jain tweeted that after the incredible success of the POCO F1, it was time for POCO to operate on its own. POCO launched the POCO F1 affordable flagship phone back in 2018, and the latest announcement suggests its successor, POCO F2, is well on its way to launch in 2020.

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Excited to share: #POCO will now be an independent brand!

What started as a sub-brand within Xiaomi, has grown into its own identity. POCO F1 was an incredibly popular phone. We feel the time is right to let POCO operate on its own.

Join me in wishing @IndiaPOCO all the best.
— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) January 17, 2020

With POCO spinning off from Xiaomi, it suggests that the newbie brand is ready to make its presence felt in the market. Since 2018, POCO has launched just one smartphone, called the POCO F1. As an independent brand, we could see POCO launching more POCO-branded smartphones across different price segments. Not only will POCO be taking on rivals like Realme, OPPO, Samsung, and OnePlus, but it will also be competing against Xiaomi’s Redmi sub-brand. Of course, this is mere speculation at the moment as we don’t have a clear idea regarding POCO’s plans as an independent brand moving forward.

POCO F2 launching soon?

The announcement from Xiaomi also reignites the question – when will the POCO F2 launch? While POCO is yet to confirm the existence of the POCO F2, the name was trademarked a few days ago with the China Trademark Office. The trademark application suggests that POCO could be ready to launch the POCO F2 soon enough. If the POCO F1 is anything to go by, we expect the POCO F2 to bring major flagship features at an affordable and disruptive pricing. Now that POCO is an independent brand, the company will be keen on proving itself in a big way with the POCO F2.