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Should Apple be worried?
Chinese mobile maker Xiaomi has Apple firmly in its sights. It's rumoured to be readying a scheme which would let customers swap their iPhone for one of its own models.
According to GizmoChina, Xiaomi's media development director "is happy to say that the company may soon launch the trade-in programme". If you trade in your iPhone 5S or older model, you would get a Xiaomi Mi Note at no extra cost. Swap the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus, and you'd get a Xiaomi Mi Note Pro to take home.
Considering upgrades usually cost hundreds of pounds, this could be a real deal sealer for many people. Xiaomi will reportedly start the scheme in China and roll it out to other countries.
Xiaomi unveiled the Mi Note and Mi Note Pro recently. Both echo Apple in terms of design.
The Mi Note totes a 5.7-inch 1080p LCD, a Snapdragon 801 chip, 3GB of RAM and 16 or 64GB of internal storage. On the back is a 13-megapixel camera with dual-tone LED flash, and inside is a 3,000mAh battery.
Read more: Xiaomi now the world's third biggest smartphone maker
The Mi Note Pro is even more of a beast. It has the same specs but with a QHD screen, 64-bit Snapdragon 810 chip and 4GB of RAM.
Xiaomi is also said to be readying an app for Apple's App Store that would make it easier for customers to switch to its operating system. This would include migrating data and syncing contacts without duplicating them.
