Metaverse has received a lot of attention in the last year. International companies such as XiaoMi, Microsoft, Nvidia, Google, Apple and Meta(Facebook) have layouts at different business levels. Chinese companies such as Baidu, Alibaba and Bytedance are also exploring. As a leading Internet enterprise, Xiaomi has not only laid out the hardware layout in Metaverse, but also laid out the payment technology and Metaverse games of Metaverse.
Xiaomi’s Metaverse hardware
Xiaomi is known for its cost-effective smart hardware. In terms of hardware ecology, Xiaomi owns mobile phone, TV, router and a large number of products incubated through the ecological chain. The unique ecological chain mode constructs a three-layer product matrix of mobile phone accessories, intelligent hardware and consumer products, forming a hardware system that widely reaches users.
And when it comes to metaverse hardware, Xiaomi isn’t left behind. Xiaomi focuses on XR hardware layout. For example, in 2018, Xiaomi and Oculus jointly launched Oculus Go. Oculus Go, priced at only 1,499 yuan, is a cost-effective mobile version of VR all-in-one machine used to explore the VR hardware market. Oculus provides the technology for the product and Xiaomi provides the supply chain capabilities.
On September 14, 2021, Xiaomi released its new concept Mi Smart Glasses Discovery Edition on Weibo. According to Xiaomi, the Discovery Edition of Xiaomi Smart Glasses uses advanced Micro LED optical waveguide technology to allow images to be displayed on the lens. The whole model weighs 15 grams. In addition, the product can achieve such as call, navigation, photo, translation and other functions. According to Xiaomi, the Discovery Edition of Xiaomi Smart Glasses presents unprecedented challenges in display and stacking in order to achieve a similar appearance to ordinary glasses. The glasses have a quad-core ARM processor, battery, trackpad, Wi-Fi/ Bluetooth module, and more. The product will use the Android operating system. However, this product is only a concept product, Xiaomi has not announced the information of its production version.
Xiaomi’s Metaverse content
Many companies’ foray into the metaverse begins with gaming, and Xiaomi did the same. In July 2021, at the second Global Cloud Game Industry Conference, China Mobile Migu, together with Xiaomi Games, Kingsoft Cloud and Nio Times, launched the cubic meter plan. Cubic Meter Plan is a game distribution plan based on cloud technology, focusing on relying on the cloud capabilities and distribution channel capabilities of China Mobile and Xiaomi, providing cloud game services for traditional game manufacturers, providing development and operation environment for cloud-native games, helping the game industry build cloud game distribution capabilities, and lowering the threshold of distribution and distribution. And through the innovation of 5G cloud game experience to build a new cloud game business model, to provide the best quality services for the majority of cloud game users, to create value for partners.
In the cubic meter plan, China Mobile Migu Company, Hai Ma Yun and other industrial partners of China Mobile give full play to the advantages of 5G+ “cloud network edge” integration to provide cloud computing power, cloud storage, cloud distribution and other services, as well as corresponding industry users, big data, 5G network and other industry development support resources. Relying on the Xiaomi ecosystem, Xiaomi Game will provide user traffic services in TV, mobile phone and AIoT, and provide certain guarantee for the distribution of cloud games with the huge number of smartphone and smart TV users. Kingsoft Cloud and NIO, as leading cloud computing power and solution providers, will also provide professional cloud game solution services to partners.
Liu Xin, general manager of China Mobile Migu Company, said that after the launch of the cubic meter plan, all parties involved will invest more than 10 billion yuan in promoting the ecological construction of cloud game industry and the development of cloud-native games, especially to give more active support to full-platform games, “three high” cloud games with high quality, high picture quality and high frame rate characteristics, as well as innovative products based on cloud capabilities. Jointly create a new era of cloud gaming.
Cloud gaming is a key step in Xiaomi’s metaverse layout. At present, the market generally believes that the landing of the metaverse will start with games. Xiaomi’s cloud games have accumulated a certain number of users and content. The head of Xiaomi Cloud games said at the 2021 game Industry Innovation Trend Forum that Xiaomi will have a comprehensive layout in cloud games, AR/VR and the metaverse. Cloud games are the indispensable first step for Xiaomi to lay out the metaverse, and have also become the key strategic direction of Xiaomi’s innovation business.
