It's really, painfully obvious that Xiaomi is copycatting Apple to a degree no other company of this valuation is. Is there really a (legitimate) alternative viewpoint here, though?
I don't think anybody outside China looks at what Xiaomi does favorably unless merely out of scorn for Apple - they really are riding Apple's design and marketing coattails to the point that it's a bit embarrassing. If you don't think that's at the very least uncouth as a business practice, I'm not sure what to tell you.
I'd be far more interested in what Chinese nationals think of Xiaomi, though, because the company is obviously wildly successful there. I think many Chinese consumers really like to root for the 'home team,' too, so it'd be fascinating to get their take on right-or-wrongness of the company's copying of Apple, or if they even care about it.
