Watch out Micromax, Xiaomi is working on an Android One smartphone

Xiaomi made a grand entry into the Indian market earlier this year. With superior specs, crazy pricing schemes and hyped flash sales, Xiaomi managed to make a mark in India and further intensified the budget smartphone segment. Now, news has it that Xiaomi has teamed up with Google to build an Android One device. Hugo Barra, who has been the face of Xiaomi, has told GizChina that an Android One launch from Xiaomi is just around the corner.  This piece of news comes in when reports about Google’s Android One finding it tough to break into Indian markets are doing rounds. This may also help Google push its Android One initiative further as Xiaomi is among the top phone makers in China.   Barra further told the news site that the company was keen on pushing its existing models into Android One’s scheme of things instead of building an all new smartphone. This means we could see the mid-range specifications seen on existing Xiaomi devices run Android One. For instance, the Redmi 1s that is by far superior in terms of specs compared to other devices at the same price range, could be re-launched with Android One - with a stock Android 4.4 OS rather than the MIUI skin.   India is an important market for Xiaomi. In an earlier interview, **Barra had said** , “India as a market has a lot of potential for smartphones, but it will probably take a couple of years for it to reach this potential. It’s like quarter of a size of China’s smartphone market or maybe even a fifth, so obviously there’s a long way to go.” We’ve seen Micromax, Spice and Karbonn push out Android One devices featuring almost similar specs. If and when Xiaomi launches its device in India, it would further intensify the competition. All in all, it’s a win-win situation for consumers.