Xiaomi has managed to set new benchmarks for any aspiring smartphone brand in India with its robust strategies that returned fruitful results. Not just Xiaomi, but its sub-brand POCO also witnessed huge success with just one smartphone in its portfolio. Now, the Chinese smartphone giant has taken a bold step to spin off POCO as an independent brand in India just like it did with Redmi in January last year.

POCO was started back in 2018 with a small team that was responsible for the launch of Poco F1. The smartphone was an instant hit back in the day and continues to impress many even today. But there's far more excitement around Poco F2, which for some reason has remained a mystery despite rumours, leaks and speculations.

POCO - an independent brand

While the move looks a lot of like Redmi's spin-off, the decision to make POCO as an independent brand is nothing like it. The Redmi brand might be an independent brand, it still falls under Xiaomi's umbrella. As for POCO, it will "operate on its own." Further details on the POCO spin-off were not shared, but we expect to learn more in the days to come.

Poco by Xiaomi
Poco by XiaomiTwitter/Jai Mani

"What started as a sub-brand in POCO has grown into its own identity in a short span of time. POCO F1 is an extremely popular phone across user groups, and remains a top contender in its category even in 2020. We feel the time is right to let POCO operate on its own now, which is why we're excited to announce that POCO will spin off as an independent brand. Join me in wishing the POCO team the best!" Manu Jain, Xiaomi Vice President and Xiaomi India Managing Director, said in a statement.

Why is this great news for fans?

Xiaomi, Poco F1, India, launch, price, specs
Poco F1KVN Rohit/IBTimes India

For almost two years now, news about Poco F2 has excited fans but there hasn't been any official update. Poco's global head Alvin Tse hinted there will more from the brand in 2020 and the spin-off could be just the beginning.

Poco F2 could be the first product from the spun off brand this year. Recently, a trademark application was leaked to show Poco F2 does indeed exist and what better way to start the new journey of POCO than to build on the existing hype.