Xiaomi has been known for the past 6-8 years for providing updates for its devices for up to 4-5 years, so in addition to the mandatory security updates, those who don't replace their phone every two years can also get the new interface and features. Unfortunately, this good "habit" has now been abandoned by the manufacturer, just like the Android One line or the booming Android Go.
Coronavirus or not, Xiaomi has made a series of decisions in recent years that have earned the ire of its fans. The optimisation of production and costs is clearly visible, and it is clear that they still have no concrete plans for the European market. Although sales are performing well (it is already leading sales in several countries), we do not see a logical strategy, it is still a game of chess. This year, the Mi 10 launch has shown us that they have no intention of taking on the competition in Europe with their flagship models. We've gotten used to the weaker RAM/ROM variants over the Chinese versions, but the Mi 10 / Mi 10 Pro's slot capable of handling 1db nanoSIM was an inexplicable strategic decision that we're still waiting to see the answer to.
2020 wasn't the first year for Xiaomi to introduce a 5G-capable phone, with the Mi 9 Pro and the Mi MIX 3 5G model from 2019. Although these were not officially available in Hungary, they were sold in several countries in Europe. They did not break any sales records, but they sold a good number of them in their category. But it seems that the data was not convincing for Xiaomi, which is why the Android 10 update has already become a question mark, let alone the MIUI 12 update. If it doesn't sell, they don't bother with it anymore.
Going back to the beginning of the article, many of you switched to Xiaomi phones back then, because e.g. Samsung somehow "forgot" to update even their top models after 1-2 years, not to mention the low budget category. 4-5 years ago, one of the strong arguments for Xiaomi phones was that they would get at least 2 major Android versions and at least 2 MIUI version updates. Maybe the Mi 3 has seen 3 MIUI versions...
By 2020, however, the situation has gotten so bad that not only will the manufacturer not support devices for 3-4 years, but we'll be lucky if our 2-year-old device gets at least one MIUI major version update.
MIUI 12 will be the last Global stable ROM on these models
These devices will still receive the upcoming MIUI 12 Global stable ROMs, but the cycle will end on 5 September and no further support is expected from the manufacturer in the future, apart from security updates and bug fixes:
Mi 8 Lite
Mi Max 3
Mi 8 SE
Mi 8 Pro
Mi Mix 2S
Wed 8
Mi 8 Transparent Edition
Mi Mix 3
The manufacturer is focusing its resources on new models, and as the range of models offered to the Chinese, Indian and global markets remains diverse, developers will have their work cut out. Along with the fact that prices have gone down from this Friday (see no global Mi 10 Ultra due to slump in demand for expensive Mi 10 series), even the period of support has been reduced.
This is by no means a positive sign for the coming years, it will be difficult for manufacturers to retain the trust of fans and even harder for them to win the trust of new customers from competitors.
