Xiaomi And Vivo Confirm JB Hi-Fi Will Start Selling Their Phones This Week

Xiaomi And Vivo Confirm JB Hi-Fi Will Start Selling Their Phones This Week

Xiaomi is one of the most popular smartphone brands worldwide, dominating the Chinese and Indian market.

While the brand has started selling in Australia via its Mi Store, it hasn’t pushed heavily into the market – remaining off the shelves of our biggest retailers.

But that’s about to change.


[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2019/02/xiaomis-mi-9-is-a-mid-range-tease-from-overseas/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/b0cfplgwncxoypo7dwpz.jpg” title=”Xiaomi’s Mi 9 Is A Mid-Range Tease From Overseas” excerpt=”Since becoming one of China’s most popular smartphone brands, Xiaomi has slowly been gaining steam globally, claiming the top spot in India while also expanding into the Middle East and Europe. And while you can buy a smattering of Xiaomi products like the Mi Box in the Australia, Xiaomi phones are still a no go, which is a damn shame because the new Mi 9 seems like a handset we could use.”]


Update August 20:

Vivo corroborated the rumour on August 20 by announcing the launch of the S1 and Y17 in JB Hi-Fi from 22 August 2019, with the S1 costing $449 and the Y17 for $369.

Y17 Specs

  • 6.35-inch Halo FullViewâ„¢ Display, 89% screen-to-body ratio and 19.3:9 aspect ratio
  • 20MP front cameras, supported by Vivo’s AI Face Beauty enhancement facial feature
  • Rear Triple Camera, including a 8MP AI Super-Wide-Angle Camera, 13MP Main Camera and 2MP Depth Camera
  • Octa-core processor, 4GB RAM, 128GB ROM and a Dual-Engine Fast Charging 5,000mAh battery

S1 Specs

  • 6.38-inch Super AMOLED Halo FullViewâ„¢ Display, 90% screen-to-body ratio and 19.5:9 aspect ratio
  • “˜Always On’ Display which allows users to glance at their phone, to check alerts or the time, without consuming excessive amounts of power
  • In-Display Fingerprint Scanning technology
  • 32MP Front Camera featuring Ultra HD resolution, with Vivo’s AI Face Beauty function offering multiple selfie modes: Selfie Frontlight, AR Stickers, AI Filter
  • A rear AI Triple Camera, which includes a Sony IMX499 Camera Sensor, 8MP Wide-Angle Camera and 2MP Depth Camera
  • Octa-core processor, 6GB RAM,128GB ROM, and a Dual-Engine Fast Charging 4,500 mAh battery

In a separate email, a Xiaomi representative told Gizmodo Australia to keep an eye on JB Hi-Fi on 22 or 23 August, suggesting the catalogue is indeed real.

The original story can be found below.


According to Ausdroid, JB Hi-Fi may be the first major player in Australia to sell Xiaomi phone models as well as Vivo’s.

This rumour comes courtesy of a user on OzBargain, CheapGit, who commented that the retailer would advertise the phones in next week’s catalogue. The poster provided a leak of JB Hi-Fi’s upcoming catalogue.

According to the leaked catalogue, the prices for Xiaomi’s Mi A3, Mi 9T and Mi Mix 3 (5G ready) were $499, $699 and $1399 respectively which suggests JB Hi-Fi isn’t exactly flogging them.

If the leaked image is to be believed, it means we’ll finally be able to get our hands on a localised version with Australian chargers and JB Hi-Fi’s warranty. That might be worth the higher price point for some.

Gizmodo Australia has reached out to Xiaomi and JB Hi-Fi for confirmation and we’ll update as soon as they respond.

[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2019/03/xiaomi-looks-close-to-unleashing-a-third-contender-in-the-foldable-phone-wars/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/mulwtstwiple72c4oagg.gif” title=”Xiaomi Looks Close To Unleashing A Third Contender In The Foldable Phone Wars” excerpt=”Right now, Samsung’s Galaxy Fold and Huawei’s Mate X represent two opposing viewpoints in foldable phone design.
And while Xiaomi still hasn’t set a release date for its upcoming flexible handset, a new teaser video for Xiaomi’s Mi Fold shows that more combatants are still to come in the upcoming bendy phone wars.”]

[OzBargain via Ausdroid]


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