Xiaomi, India’s number one smartphone and smart TV brand today announced that it would be bringing ISRO’s Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, NavIC technology to its smartphones. The capability has been currently enabled by Qualcomm® Technologies Inc on several of their Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ Mobile Platforms and will be made available across multiple Xiaomi smartphones in India. 

In 2020, several Xiaomi smartphones across multiple price points will support NavIC, initially supported by some Snapdragon™ chipsets. The implementation was possible after R&D efforts from Xiaomi for software along with ISRO and Qualcomm’s efforts. 

Xiaomi has taken this step to further extend its commitment to Make in India, by bringing in technology developed in India within its smartphones. This is the first time a leading smartphone brand has worked with ISRO to bring technology developed within the country to the forefront.

Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) is the regional geo-positioning system designed in India by ISRO to provide accurate positioning in India and 1500km around the Indian mainland. The system comprises 7 satellites, 3 of which are in geostationary orbit over the Indian Ocean and 4 in geosynchronous orbit. NavIC is capable of providing location positioning accuracy better than 20 metres. 

Some of the key consumer applications of NavIC for mobile include precise location mapping in remote, difficult to access areas, precise timing, along with visual and voice navigation for drivers among others.

Commenting on the co-operation, Dr. K Sivan, Chairman ISRO said that NavIC is a critical step forward in the pursuit of harnessing space technology for national development and ISRO is eager to make it accessible to everyone for everyday use. He expressed happiness that Xiaomi India has enabled this technology across several devices in their 2020 portfolio. He said that ISRO looks forward to extending the benefits of this indigenous solution to millions of Indians through such initiatives. He also appreciated Qualcomm Technologies for enabling NavIC support on their mobile chipset platforms.

Manu Jain, Global Vice President, Xiaomi and Managing Director, Xiaomi India said on the development, “ISRO developed NavIC with the mission of enabling millions with this innovation, and we at Xiaomi work hard to ensure the same each day. We are extremely proud of the sophisticated geo-positioning  tech which ISRO has devised, and even more proud to integrate it into several Xiaomi devices. We also thank our partner Qualcomm Technologies for enabling support in their chipsets as we bring it first to the Redmi smartphone this year.”

He further added, “As a brand committed to Make in India, this acts as the next step where we localise our R&D with leaders from the industry. We hope this showcase of technology from India, made in India will further propel the adoption of innovation for everyone.”

You can view pictures here.

About Xiaomi Corporation                                                                                 

Xiaomi Corporation was founded in April 2010 and listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on July 9, 2018 (1810.HK). Xiaomi is an internet company with smartphones and smart hardware connected by an IoT platform at its core. With the vision of being friends with its users and being the “coolest company” in the hearts of its users, Xiaomi is committed to continuous innovation, with an unwavering focus on quality and efficiency. The company relentlessly builds amazing products with honest prices to let everyone in the world enjoy a better life through innovative technology. Xiaomi is currently the world’s fourth-largest smartphone brand, and has established the world’s largest consumer IoT platform, with more than 171 million smart devices (excluding smartphones and laptops) connected to its platform. Currently, Xiaomi products are present in more than 80 countries and regions around the world and have a leading foothold in many markets.

In July 2019, the company has for the first time made the Fortune Global 500 list, ranking 468th among all, and 7th in the Internet Services and Retailing category. Xiaomi is now the youngest Global 500 company.

Xiaomi India is the number 1 smartphone player since Q3 2017 IDC Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report.

Xiaomi India is the number 1 Smart TV brand since Q2 2018 IDC Worldwide Quarterly Tracker.

Tags : Xiaomi, NavIC technology