Xiaomi's Hugo Barra: We might launch an Android One phone, MIUI with Lollipop to arrive Q1 2015

In a recent interview, ex-Googler Hugo Barra, which left for Xiaomi, revealed that the Mi line of top-tier Xiaomi devices will receive Android 5.0 Lollipop in the first few months of 2015, closely followed by the mid-range Redmi line of phones. Of course, the newest iteration of Google's mobile OS will come with the manufacturer's own MIUI user interface on top. The development of this exact firmware build is currently a priority for Xiaomi, Barra claimed, suggesting that the Apple-esque MIUI will have to find a way to adopt the Material Design of Lollipop, hence this relative time delay.

HUGO BARRA: UPGRADING TO LOLLIPOP IS MY #1 PRIORITY FROM A PRODUCT PERSPECTIVE FOR OUR GLOBAL BUSINESS.

Another spicy bit of news that Hugo Barra revealed is that Xiaomi will like to be part of the Android One initiative and launch such a device, which will run stock, unaltered Android sans MIUI on top. He claimed that he and his colleagues at Xiaomi's camp are "huge fans of Android One" and they "want to be part of it". Nevertheless, there's no word on when this might happen, yet Barra says that it's "just a matter of time", as Xiaomi will "definitely like to get to it".

Naturally, such a Xiaomi member of the Android One series will surely be as aggressively-priced as the higher-tier products of the China-based smartphone maker.