The crowd gasped when the benchmark score lit up the screen.
86599 points!
Astonishment rippled through the room.
After all, the previous flagship, using the Qinglong 810—Star M1, had only managed scores in the low 60,000s.
Now, Xiaomi has squeezed out over 80,000?
It was almost unbelievable.
Standing center stage, Lei Jun let a proud smile creep onto his face.
"Isn't it awesome!"
The crowd erupted into applause and cheers.
In this era where mobile chip scores defined bragging rights, breaking the 80,000 mark was a declaration of war.
With this, Lei Jun could flood every tech forum and headline with Mi 4's performance.
Sitting in the audience, Lu Haifeng's eyes narrowed slightly.
Something felt off.
Lab tests of the Qinglong 810 didn't yield numbers this high.
Was Xiaomi running the phones inside a refrigerator during tests to inflate scores?
Still, even if they had gamed the benchmark a little, the tuning work was undeniably solid.
Haifeng wasn't worried.
When he unleashed the Hongmeng S2's benchmark scores... the whole industry would tremble.
After hyping the chip, Lei Jun moved on:
"The screen is no slouch either!"
"Mi 4 is equipped with a 5.00-inch, 1920x1080 LED display—one of the best screens in the world!"
It had to be said:
This top—tier processor and flagship screen combination already puts the Mi 4 well ahead of Huawei's Honor 3X.
Sitting there, Haifeng was genuinely impressed.
If the rest of the specs held up, the Mi 4 might really claw back market share.
But just as Haifeng expected to hear about the battery or camera, Lei Jun suddenly shifted gears.
"In addition, Mi 4 runs the latest version of MIUI—MIUI 6—with major upgrades across the board!"
The crowd murmured.
Haifeng raised an eyebrow.
Typically, hardware came first at launches. OS features came later.
Lei Jun's sudden shift suggested one thing:
MIUI 6 borrowed heavily from Hongmeng OS.
Still, Haifeng wasn't offended.
In the mobile world, everyone borrowed and built upon each other.
Even Google and Apple shamelessly swapped ideas.
A company could stand at the top by learning, refining, and innovating.
After finishing the MIUI showcase, Lei Jun skipped the rest of the hardware details altogether and went straight for the kill:
"Now, how much would you pay for a device with such performance, a top-class display, and a silky operating system?"
The tension thickened.
Sitting below, Haifeng smiled faintly.
He already knew where this was going.
Lei Jun raised his hand and shouted:
"Only ¥1999!"
The number blazed across the giant screen behind him.
¥1999 (~$275) — absolute madness!
The crowd exploded.
"Awesome!"
"President Lei is a legend!"
"Down with Huawei!"
"Mi 4 is invincible!"
Haifeng chuckled inwardly.
Lei Jun wasn't just a product guy—he was a showman.
But Haifeng knew better.
Nobody ran a loss-making business for long.
The Mi 4's killer specs had to be hiding compromises somewhere.
Sure enough, Lei Jun revealed:
"We're launching two versions!"
"Version 1: 2GB RAM + 32GB Storage — ¥1999 (~$275)**
It features a 2400 mAh battery, a 13MP rear camera, and an 8MP front camera."
Haifeng nodded slightly.
The truth was clear:
Except for the processor and display, most of the Mi 4's components were carryovers from the Mi 3.
Same battery. Same cameras. Same basic design.
And that was smart.
The Mi 3 was less than eight months old.
Its components were still competitive, and Xiaomi had plenty of leftover inventory.
By recycling parts:
Xiaomi kept costs low, maintaining the insane ¥1999 price point.
They cleared out last year's stock quietly.
They kept their fanbase hyped and loyal.
A win-win.
Haifeng silently gave Lei Jun a nod of respect.
This was how real tech battles were fought—
not just onstage with specs, but behind the scenes with supply chains and strategy.