Yes!
Xiaomi are not so well known in the UK, but are the world's 3rd biggest smartphone manufacturer (on 11%) after Apple (1st on 20%) and Samsung (2nd on 16%).
Chinese Huawei (with sub-brand Honor) used to be 3rd until President Trump banned US firms from dealing with them, so they could no longer access western chips or the Google Play store. Now Xiaomi and fellow Chinese Oppo are duking it out to chase Samsung.
So, how do Xiaomi compare to Samsung?
Very well on value for money and very well on customer focus.
Both firms take Google's raw Android, and give it a 1) a "skin" of their own, and 2) a lot of default apps you can't remove and take up space.
Fortunately, #2 is now no longer a problem. Even cheap phone can have 64G of memory - more than enough for all the apps you could ever want.
With Xiaomi, #1 is not a problem either. The phone does come with lots of their apps and lots of Google's as well, so you can just ignore their mail or calendar app, and use Google's instead. In the past their used to be a problem with intrusive ads - that's no longer the case. The Xiaomi version of Android seems to be "stock Android" plus a few things, so you can swap from a Xiaomi phone to another Android phone without being lost.
Where Xiaomi wins though is value for money. Their phones are much cheaper than Samsung. My 64GB phone with a great camera, big screen, big battery, fast charge, fingerprint sensor, and NFC (Android pay) was £140. A few weeks later is was £10 cheaper with a free smartwatch thrown in!
Oh, and my phone has already had 2 Android security updates - something my Samsung never had. One year after their mid-range phone's are released, so 6 months or so after you buy it, they are abandoned by Samsung. No more Android or security updates. That's another reason Xiaomi win.
Google release new versions of Android annually. Google's Pixel phones get it straight away. Xiaomi's mid range phones get it about 18 months later. Later, but better later than never like Samsung. (Security updates are different - they come after a month or so)
So what's bad about Xiaomi. The phones not quite as good as a Samsung. It crashes occasionally (the Samsung never did), and when the battery dies, so does the phone, it doesn't "hibernate" and resume from where it left off. Both are very mild gripes.
But comparing it to partner's flagship Samsung, I much prefer mine. OK, her camera is awesome, every picture is just perfect, but my fingerprint sensor is much better, her volume is broken (she need to make calls on handsfree to hear them), then lots of Samsung clutter that annoys her. Samsung repairs are outrageous - the cost to fix her phone was more than mine cost in the first place. Some Xiaomi's now come with a free screen replacement.
Another drag are their endless discounts :) did I say my phone was cheaper with a free smartwatch a week after I brought it.
Top tip. Follow Xiaomi UK on Facebook. They are always having sales events - just like a sofa or carpet shop! Wait a week or 2, and you'll get a fab sale. A recent example was their flagship for £200 off, or the current range ("9") about to be replaced for 1/2 price (£80 for a 64G phone). They often do promotions on Amazon. If you buy direct - the best discounts apart from Amazon promotions - the phone comes from France and takes 2 or 3 days.
Their ranges seem to come out every 6 months or so. I brought an "8" six months ago when it was being remaindered. Now they about to launch a flagship "11".
Note: some of their cheaper phones don't have google pay (NFC) - check if this is important to you.
Summary : After 6 months I am so glad I switched from Samsung. Great phone. Awesome value for money. Nothing I don't like about it.
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