Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has unveiled two flagship phablets in Beijing on Thursday, comparing them directly with Apple's largest iPhones.
Chief executive Lei Jun introduced the Mi Note, saying it was shorter, thinner and lighter than the iPhone 6 Plus.
Priced at 2,299 yuan ($371; £244), the 16 gigabyte model is less than half the price of Apple's handset and Samsung's phablet, the Galaxy Note 4.
Analysts say Xiaomi became the world's third bestselling phone firm in 2014.
Phablets are generally mobile devices that have features of both a smartphone and a tablet, but are too big or small in size to be classified as either one.
Xiaomi - which was only founded in 2010 - announced that the Mi Note was 6.95mm (0.27in) thick and weighed 161g (5.7oz).
That makes it 1.05mm thinner than the iPhone 6 Plus and 11g lighter.
The flagship Mi Note Pro has a higher resolution display and a faster processor than the basic model
It also features a 13 megapixel (MP) rear camera, made by Sony, and a 4MP front one.
In addition, Xiaomi announced the higher-end Mi Note Pro, which will be released at a later date. This model has:
- a higher resolution 2K display (515 pixels per inch)
- a faster 64 bit Snapdragon processor and 4G chip, which is capable of 450 megabits per second (Mbps) downloads
- more RAM memory (4GB)
- 64GB of built-in storage
It will sell for 3,299 yuan ($532; £350).
The company has been accused of copying iPhones in the past and Wee Teck Loo, head of consumer electronics research at market research firm Euromonitor, said a lot of emphasis was put on a side-by-side comparison with the iPhone 6 Plus at the start of the launch.
"Xiaomi appears like a teenager who wants to act like an adult and yet, cling on to his blanket for comfort - Apple bashing," he said.
Kiranjeet Kumar, senior market analyst at IDC Asia Pacific, said Xioami's comparisons to the iPhone implies the firm believes it is a product they look up to.
"They are trying to position against Apple or are trying to appeal to the Chinese consumer who still aspire to iPhones," he said.
Price war
In terms of features, analysts said that the specifications of Xioami's new devices did not show a "breakthrough in innovation" and its low prices were still the biggest attraction.
"Xiaomi changed the game in a way. Instead of keeping everyone's focus on ground-breaking innovative features coming on flagship phones, it has switched attention to packing great specs at modest price points," Mr Kumar said. "The key would be if they surpass the competition and its earlier models at those price-points."
The flagship devices basically extended what Xiaomi was good at - models that were targeted at Apple and Samsung, the only firms that still outsell it, Mr Loo added.
"The new models are definitely an upgrade compared to their predecessors - Xiaomi desperately needed to refresh its line-up to keep up with its competitors," he said.
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