Technical Guruji is a popular Indian YouTuber known for his gadgets unboxing and reviews. YouTuber, whose real name is Gaurav Chaudhury, has over 11 million subscribers on the video-sharing network. Technical Guruji is at the centre of controversy after the YouTuber unveiled Galaxy M phones at Samsung’s event last week.
Taking a swipe at the YouTuber, Xiaomi VP Manu Kumar Jain said in a tweet, “Ironical to see tech bloggers get up on stage at product launches, talking all great things about the product (maybe influenced by monetary payment). As a reviewer, users depend on you to be honest & open about any product. How can this be termed as ‘unbiased’ media?”
Kiska baja? Samsung ka band baja 🤣
You startled the so called smartphone empire they had created by offering misleading specs at exorbitant prices to cover their media spends. On the other hand you guys built it with honest pricing and maverick marketing. Respect @manukumarjain https://t.co/tOd8PA3Iqg— Nikhil Chawla (@nikhilchawla) January 28, 2019
A day after Jain’s tweet, Technical Guruji posted a bend test of Xiaomi’s upcoming Redmi Note 7. The YouTuber later made it clear that the bend test wasn’t in response to Jain’s comments. He also promised to conduct another bend test of Redmi Note 7.
People asking ki kisi aur phone ka bend test kyu nahi toh woh isliye kyuki kisi ne kabhi pehle aise kuch claims nahi kiye.. Agar koi doosra brand aise claim karta hai toh I would love to do another test…
— Gaurav Chaudhary (@TechnicalGuruji) January 30, 2019
“Xiaomi has been number one in the Indian market for quite some time. But maintaining the number one spot is very difficult. That said, Samsung Galaxy M10 and M20 are amazing devices and probably Xiaomi knows this. Jain’s tweet was aimed at a soft target and diverted the attention to YouTubers and influencers rather the devices. I think Xiaomi should not have commented on this. Moreover, Xiaomi has also used influencers in the past to promote its phones, for example Poco F1,” a popular technology YouTuber told Hindustan Times.
“Samsung may have done it for the first time but a lot of other brands have thrived on influencer marketing. I believe a disclosure should be in place whenever such brand associations are made. While Manu Kumar Jain raised some valid points, it’s unfortunately a growing culture in the consumer technology space,” said Abhishek Baxi, a Delhi-based technology journalist.