Rumor: Xiaomi Set-Top Box Just Paving the Way for an Actual Television

The Xiaomi set-top box: just the beginning?

We’ve written a lot about Xiaomi’s set-top box, which readers may recall has recently become tangled in a regulatory mess. That nightmare is far from over, but according to anonymous sources cited in a report in the Southern Metropolis Daily, Xiaomi is already looking past the set-top box, which it sees as just a stepping stone to producing an actual Xiaomi television.

The sources are vague, but the basic idea is a logical one: even with massive sales, Xiaomi isn’t going to be able to generate much revenue with the relatively cheap set-top box as compared to the sales of its first and second generation phones. Stepping back even further, the set-top box is, by its very nature, a temporary solution — a stopgap to help us get internet video onto our televisions until the time when everyone’s television supports all kinds of internet video apps natively. Smart TV manufacturers thusfar have done a rather clunky job of it, but that day is coming, and certainly Xiaomi can generate a lot more revenue selling TVs than it could seeing set-top boxes or low-cost smartphones.

So is an actual Xiaomi television coming in the near future? Probably not. Especially given the regulatory issues the set-top box has run into, it seems likely it will be quite a while before we see any traces of an actual Xiaomi television. But regardless of the veracity of this particular rumor, it does seem likely that a television is a part of the company’s long-term strategy.

[Southern Metropolis Daily via Sina Tech]