Xiaomi turns Redmi into a sub-brand

Xiaomi's Redmi brand is taking on a life of its own.

The company is spinning off Redmi, which was previously a product line for the company's mid-range phones, into a sub-brand, Android Authority reported Thursday.

Xiaomi also posted a teaser image on its website featuring the number 4,800, which indicates that the first Redmi phone will have a 48-megapixel camera -- or a 4,800mAh battery.

Xiaomi has been teasing a phone with a 48-megapixel camera for some time, so it's quite likely that this upcoming Redmi device will have one. It's rumored that the device will have Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 675 chip, which fits into the Redmi profile. Redmi phones are typically mid-range devices which offer a ton of bang for the buck.

As for the new sub-brand strategy, it appears that Xiaomi is taking a page out of Huawei's playbook. The Chinese smartphone giant has been very successful with its Honor sub-brand, which offers phones slightly less powerful than similar Huawei-branded models for significantly lower prices.

It's worth noting, however, that Xiaomi already has one sub-brand -- the India-focused Poco, whose Pocophone F1 was one of the best phones of the year. One has to wonder just how many sub-brands can one smartphone brand have.

More about the Redmi sub-brand and, likely, the new smartphone, will be revealed at a January 10 press event.