There’s good news for lovers of the Xiaomi brand in Nigeria. The Mi 5 and Redmi Note 3 will be launching in the country very soon.
It is Mi! No; not you. Mi!
Earlier this year, we published news of the legal face-off between mi-Fone (a Siuth African manufacturer) and Xiaomi over the use of the “Mi” brand in Nigeria. At the time, mi-Fone won a temporary injunction against Xiaomi and so the Chinese brand had to pull its devices off the shelves for a while.
Tables Flipped
Not too long after that, however, Xiaomi flipped the table against mi-Fone and secured the legal right to market its products in the country. This has opened the door for them to launch the Mi 5 and Redmi Note 3.
As of right now, mi-Fone smartphones are no longer available on Konga’s online store. If you remember, there was a mi-Fone and Konga partnership that produced a smartphone like the mi-Tribe. Is mi-Fone pulling out of the country or will they be rebranding now that Xiaomi has the rights to the “Mi” brand in Nigeria?
Mi 5 and Redmi Note 3 Launch: Official
In case you are wondering, the news of the Xiaomi Mi 5 and Redmi Note 3 Nigerian launch is official. A representative of Xiaomi’s distributor reached out to me with the news of the impending launch of the two devices. I will be having a hands-on with both devices soon, so expect photos and my take on them.