Xiaomi launches Mi Notebook Air, targeting Apple's MacBook lineup

Posted:
in General Discussion
Best known for its smartphones, China's Xiaomi on Wednesday revealed the Mi Notebook Air, its first laptop, apparently designed to take on Apple's MacBook and MacBook Air.




The flagship model features a 13.3-inch screen, with an Intel Core i5 processor, 8 gigabytes of RAM, 256 gigabytes of SSD storage, and an NVIDIA GeForce 940MX graphics card, CNET noted. Dedicated graphics are relatively rare in laptops outside of high-performance systems built for gaming or video editing.

Other features include two USB 3.0 ports and one USB-C connection, the latter enabling charging. Battery life is rated at 9.5 hours.

A cheaper 12.5-inch model scales back specifications to include a Core M processor, 4 gigabytes of RAM, and a 128-gigabyte SSD. One benefit however is increased battery life, rated up to 11.5 hours.

Although branded under the Xiaomi name, both systems are actually being made by a partner, Tian Mi. They should go on sale in China on August 2, with the 13.3-inch model costing 4,999 yuan (about $750), and the smaller one priced at 3,499 yuan ($525).

There are no apparent plans to bring the Mi Notebook Air to the U.S., but the product could add to Apple's competition in China, where even the 11-inch MacBook Air is 6,288 yuan ($943).
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 26
    igorskyigorsky Posts: 754member
    They actually called it "Air"? What a bunch of fucking clowns.
    dysamorianolamacguybdkennedy1002calipatchythepiratemwhitechrisrenaldiindyfxjbdragonSpamSandwich
  • Reply 2 of 26
    adhiradhir Posts: 50member
    No shame.
    calimwhitechrisrenaldijbdragonlamboaudi4
  • Reply 3 of 26
    TurboPGTTurboPGT Posts: 355member
    What OS? Windows?

    Gotta knock a couple hundred off those price tags. Then you'll be closer to what people have come to expect for a Windows laptop.
    cali
  • Reply 4 of 26
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,956member
    Theft is the sincerest form of flattery. Why didn't they just put an Apple logo on it and complete the picture? Chinese courts would rule that apples first appeared in northern China millions of years ago so cannot be trade marked. 
    jbdragon
  • Reply 5 of 26
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    So now "air" is a generic term for a certain kind of computer... This is "me-too" mindless marketing. Just come up with another name. Why is that so hard?

    Mi Notebook Feather
    Mi Notebook Breeze
    Mi Notebook Anywhere
    Mi Notebook Away
    Mi Notebook Go
    Mi Notebook Dash
    Mi Notebook Unimaginative Reuse of Popular Company Product Naming 
    jwdawsocalimwhitechrisrenaldichiajbdragonlamboaudi4
  • Reply 6 of 26
    shevshev Posts: 84member
    Looks nice, good to see a company taking Notebooks seriously nowadays. Hopefully Apple can imitate their approach 
    jackansiHabi_tweet
  • Reply 7 of 26
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,093member
    Typical Xiaomi bullshit. They have the gall to call it the same as Apple's laptop (and capitalize on it) and Apple know's they can't do anything about it as China pretty much allows this kind of nonsense to proliferate in that country.

    Kick China out of the WTO.  
    calipatchythepiratejbdragonSpamSandwichlamboaudi4
  • Reply 8 of 26
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,956member
    sflocal said:
    Typical Xiaomi bullshit. They have the gall to call it the same as Apple's laptop (and capitalize on it) and Apple know's they can't do anything about it as China pretty much allows this kind of nonsense to proliferate in that country.

    Kick China out of the WTO.  
    We have sold our soul to the devil, economically. We want cheaper goods all the way from Walmart junk to the finest phones. This is the price. 
    jbdragon
  • Reply 9 of 26
    nolamacguynolamacguy Posts: 4,758member
    shev said:
    Looks nice, good to see a company taking Notebooks seriously nowadays. Hopefully Apple can imitate their approach 
    get lost troll
    caliai46mwhitechiajbdragonroundaboutnowSpamSandwich
  • Reply 10 of 26
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    You stole the hardware and had to copy the name too??
    mwhitejbdragonSpamSandwich
  • Reply 11 of 26
    whatever
    edited July 2016
  • Reply 12 of 26
    razormaidrazormaid Posts: 299member
    Still... imagine how many Apple would sell at $600?  Hell even $800. The only saving grace is this things run "Virus"... oh sorry I meant Windows. Sometimes it's hard to tell which is which. 

    When i sell PC friends on Mac I stress that MAC runs Windows sooooop much faster through parallels than on a native PC. So besides two computers for the price of one you get your full processor speed too - no sharing with the blood sucking anti virus windows would normally require native on a PC. 

    Its jusr VERY hard to get people to plop down $2500 for a15" laptop. Hell I paid slightly less for my 17" back in the day. I try to sell them on a 13" but like me we need the real estate using music software. 13" is just too small. Everyone wants 17" but they are getting harder and harder to locate. I have it running macOS 12 fine but I'm guessing starting macOS 13 that will be it for us. 
  • Reply 13 of 26
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member
    With the keyboard matching the case it looks more like a Surface Book than a MBA. I thought Dell has an exclusive on thin bezel displays?
  • Reply 14 of 26
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,212member
    Theft is the sincerest form of flattery. Why didn't they just put an Apple logo on it and complete the picture? Chinese courts would rule that apples first appeared in northern China millions of years ago so cannot be trade marked. 
    cali said:
    You stole the hardware and had to copy the name too??
    Just the way it is anymore. Xiaomi is plainly and openly mimicking Apple's successful products and there's apparently millions of Chinese buyers happy to buy 'em. Worse there's absolutely nothing Apple will do about it in China, either because they're unwilling to rock the government's boat and chance losing out completely, or they fear there's no courts in China that would support them if they tried. 
    edited July 2016
  • Reply 15 of 26
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,913member
    Still Windows machine..Good computer is not just piece of hardware. If ain't MacOS inside than it can't be good notebook/laptop.
    tobian
  • Reply 16 of 26
    ipilyaipilya Posts: 195member
    Is it me... or is their product website a complete failure in its attempt to mimic Apple's?
    SpamSandwich
  • Reply 17 of 26
    tzeshantzeshan Posts: 2,351member
    Although this is shameless copying, it is also shrewd business.  The Windows world has been doing something similar for decades starting from Microsoft.  The Windows world and MacWorld is a dichotomy.  The market has been successfully separated by Microsoft and PC manufacturers.  


  • Reply 18 of 26
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    sflocal said:
    Typical Xiaomi bullshit. They have the gall to call it the same as Apple's laptop (and capitalize on it) and Apple know's they can't do anything about it as China pretty much allows this kind of nonsense to proliferate in that country.

    Kick China out of the WTO.  
    We have sold our soul to the devil, economically. We want cheaper goods all the way from Walmart junk to the finest phones. This is the price. 
    That blames the consumers for being pushed into lower and lower economic conditions and excuses the businesses that have stopped selling quality product because it produces less profit. The illusion of choice, is what I'm getting at here. If you take away choice, you really ought not to blame the consumers for not choosing better.
    Habi_tweet
  • Reply 19 of 26
    why-why- Posts: 305member
    I can't stand those massive bottom bezels
  • Reply 20 of 26
    Shows that given enough time, anyone capable will try and jump on the train of success. Also the real value is in the services that back the devices. If the prices are like for like, why wouldn't you buy the Apple "air" If the prices are much lower, then the people buying would have never bought an apple air anyway due to cost.
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