BEIJING -- Rising smartphone star Xiaomi is moving upmarket and taking aim at Apple's iPhone. The Chinese maker known for low-priced phones on Thursday unveiled   a new model that Chairman J un Lei said is comparable to Apple's iPhone 6 but thinner, lighter and much cheaper. The phone starts at 2, 299 yuan ($375), less than half the 5,288 yuan ($ 865) price of an iPhone 6 in China. Xiaomi, founded in 2010, passed South Korea's SaM:ung Electronics Co. in the second quarter of last year as the best-selling smartphone brand in China by number of phones sold. The company is expanding into India and other developing markets but has yet to announce plans to enter the United States or Europe. Xiaomi "is a respected brand that already has an Apple-like following" in China, said analyst Brian Blair, who tracks mobile device makers at Rosenblatt Securities. Apple is still a relatively small player in China, selling about 45 million iPhones there last year, Blair estimates, but will continue to grow. "Apple is very much a premium   brand," said Blair. "The company that's more at risk is SaM:ung, which has been losing share in that market." Privately held   Xiaomi said last year's sales tripled to 61. 1 million phones and revenue   more than doubled to 74. 3 billion yuan ($12.2 billion). The company, based in Beijing, recently completed a round of fundraising from investors that it said valued Xiaomi at $ 45 billion, making it one of the world's most valuable technology brands. Xiaomi ran into legal trouble in India in December after a court blocked sales while it hears a complaint by Sweden's LM Ericcson that the Chinese company violated its patents. In a blog post earlier this month, Lei called the case a "rite of passage"   for a young company. What can be inferred from the passage according to Brian Blair?
More than 45 million iPhones will be sold this year. Xiaomi can beat Apple in the market of China. He thinks Xiaomi is superior to Apple. SaM:ung will be closed for losing share in the market.