Does Xiaomi have a copycat problem? A lot of people certainly seem to think so, with comparisons being made to competing products, such as those built by Apple. Recently the company was faced with copycat claims that they might be pilfered the design of the iPhone 5 with the chamfered edge on a Xiaomi device.
However in an interview with Bloomberg, Xiaomi’s Hugo Barra defended the company. According to Barra, “Yes, it does look like an iPhone 5 and that chamfered edge, by the way, is present in so many other devices. People couldn’t bring themselves to believe a Chinese company actually could be a world innovator, could build amazingly high-quality products.”
He goes on to note that the copycat claims aren’t fair, especially in today’s market where smartphones were all starting to look like one another. He goes on to claim that moving forward, he believes that the opposite will happen, which is that other companies will start to copy Xiaomi in terms of design. Given that Xiaomi’s phones are some of the most pirated phones in the market, it’s certainly starting to look that way.
In 2014, the company also found themselves on the receiving end of some harsh criticism from famed Apple designer Jony Ive, who did not mince words when he said, ”I think it’s theft, and it’s lazy. I don’t think it’s okay at all,” when responding to a statement made by Barra where he stated that, “Our designers, our engineers are inspired by great products and by great design out there. And frankly who in today’s world isn’t?”
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