Handset companies look beyond the basics in game of Pros

The Pro versions, which brands claim to offer better features for a higher price, have created a separate segment for the companies to capitalise on.

That seems to be the flavour of the season for smartphone brands in India, with the likes of Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Realme, OnePlus and Huawei launching Pro short for professional versions of their base models.

The Pro versions, which brands claim to offer better features for a higher price, have created a separate segment for the companies to capitalise on. But analysts say many of the Pro versions launched so far in India have only cosmetic changes from the base ones for instance, a better camera but are priced as much as 50% higher, a strategy that they cautioned could backfire and hurt brand value.

Market leader Xiaomi, however, justified the launch of Pro versions, saying changing the nomenclature allowed consumers to better understand the difference between variants and make their selections easier.

On analyst views that the Pro strategy by brands could be misleading customers to pay a premium for not that many features, a Xiaomi spokesperson said, a lot is dependent on the industry trend — if camera is the biggest trend in the market, then the brands are more likely to make that as their biggest USP.

Others like OnePlus and Vivo also backed the Pro strategy, and downplayed analyst concerns. Oppo and Realme didn’t comment. Among other major players, Samsung doesn’t have any Pro models.

Vikas Agarwal, the India head for OnePlus said, the dual flagship strategy will allow us to deepen the bond with our core user base while also expanding the brand among a new set of premium users.

Nipun Marya, director of brand strategy at Vivo India, said its non-Pro version was aimed at consumers who wanted flagship device-like innovations at slightly lower prices.