The Thunder Lord is different.

Lei Jun has been less visible on social media lately. Photo: Weibo .

For many years, Lei Jun was an icon, directly introducing Xiaomi's flagship products. He also prepared a personal speech for the launch of the Xiaomi 17 series, sharing the story behind the Xuanjie chip and the company's automotive division.

Meanwhile, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is the first product under the global strategic partnership between Xiaomi and Leica. However, Lu Weibing served as the main speaker before and during the Xiaomi 17 Ultra launch event on December 25th, while Lei Jun sat quietly in the audience. Furthermore, almost all of the content presented at this press conference was unrelated to his Xiaomi Auto division.

Change the communication strategy.

After weathering a media storm over the past two months, Xiaomi has realized it's in a rather sensitive media environment. While product sales remain strong, public image, both for Lei Jun personally and for Xiaomi's automotive division, has clearly deteriorated.

Since Xiaomi entered the electric vehicle market, Lei Jun's name has skyrocketed along with his media coverage. Netizens have taken notice of him as a tech CEO willing to take a gamble on a capital-intensive, high-risk industry.

However, excessive attention has caused media disruption between the electric vehicle and phone segments. When electric vehicles or the Lei Jun (a specific brand) faced controversy, all Xiaomi products, including smartphones, suffered negative psychological impact. The strategic position of Xiaomi smartphones was somewhat overshadowed.

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra stands out with its lens and imaging technology from Leica. Photo: Xiaomi.

Therefore, the launch of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra partly reflects the company's marketing strategy in the mobile phone segment. The product line was introduced about two months earlier than usual in previous years, aiming to capitalize on the peak consumer demand during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Previously, in a livestream before the launch, Lu Weibing said he had seen some netizens express their desire for the Xiaomi Ultra series to be released in time for them to take photos during the Lunar New Year. The Xiaomi 17 series was also introduced at the end of September, about a month earlier than usual, to capitalize on the purchasing power during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, and achieved impressive results.

According to published figures, this model sold over one million units in just 5 days after its launch, surpassing even the previous flagship Xiaomi 15. By early November, sales had exceeded 2 million units, a significant improvement compared to the sales rate of its predecessor.

Stepping back from the spotlight.

Considering business performance alone, it can be said that this is the peak moment in history. For many consecutive quarters, both Xiaomi's phone and automotive segments have experienced strong growth, breaking historical records, and profitability has seen a significant breakthrough, according to the company's Q3 2025 report.

However, according to QQ News , the company's reputation may be at its "most critical point." The public's perception of Lei Jun has changed, from someone who "says everything right" to someone who scrutinizes everything he shares.

From Lei Jun's marketing tactics, with the terms and conditions of sale printed too small in product advertisements, to safety issues related to Xiaomi vehicles, everything was quickly amplified, plunging Xiaomi into a large-scale public opinion crisis.

Lei Jun was unusually quiet at the Xiaomi 17 Ultra launch event. Photo: QQ News .

Currently, Xiaomi is gradually changing what Lei Jun calls the "Xiaomi methodology" for success, which has been applied for decades. At launch events, the focus is placed on the actual product experience, instead of the familiar "problem-effort-solution" storytelling style. Prices and promotions are also announced transparently.

According to QQ News , the most crucial point remains the "silent withdrawal" of Lei Jun's personal brand. Recently, he was absent from the Guangzhou Auto Show, leaving the "young genius" Luo Fuli to present Xiaomi's open-source large-scale model, and even sat in the audience during the Xiaomi 17 Ultra launch event.

He still updates regularly on Weibo, but the content mostly consists of copied official information, and he hasn't checked in at gyms for over two months. On Douyin, Lei Jun has long since stopped livestreaming.

Source: https://znews.vn/loi-quan-khac-la-post1614606.html