MacBook Air (2015) vs Mi Notebook Air: Which one should you buy? Price, Specs compared (Photo : YouTube/Mi Hong Kong)
Xiaomi officially unveiled its first laptop, the Mi Notebook Air, which is similar to Apple's MacBook Air, not only by the name but also in terms of specs. The Chinese tech giant announced the laptop, which runs on Windows 10, during a recent event where it released the new Redmi Pro handset as well.
The company teased the event earlier this month and set up a poll to establish whether customers will look forward for the reveal, according to Xiaomi official thread. The Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air was the second most voted option, and now the company has delivered.
The laptop comes in two variants that have relatively different specs, with price tags catering for different levels of customers. However, the two versions has some common features, including the 1080p display with slim under-glass bezels, the backlit keyboard, and the USB Type-C charging port, according to the company's official website. Xiaomi prides itself on the slim, minimalist metallic casing, and offers the models in silver or gold.
The outside case of the laptop has no logo, and therefore, users can decorate it as they so deem. A unique feature of the laptops is that users wearing the Xiaomi Mi wearable can auto-unlock their laptops when in close range.
At the entry level, the Chinese tech giant offers a 12.5-inch, which measures 0.5 inches thick and weighs 2.36 pounds. The size comes with some compromises with regard to specs.
The 12.5-inch laptop comes with Intel's Core M3 CPU backed by 4GB of RAM. The laptop offers a storage capacity of 128GB SSD through SATA, without dedicated GPU in the rig. The manufacturer featured the laptop with a free PCIe slot for future upgrades, although only the OEM is permitted to pack extra stuff into the laptop.
The entry-level laptop has one USB 3.0 port and an HDMI port. Xiaomi claims that users should expect up to 11.5 hours of battery life from the laptop. With these feature, the laptop goes for about $525.
On the other hand, the high-end model is a 13.3-inch laptop with the general measurements of 12.08 by 8.30 by 0.58 inches, in addition 2.82 pounds of weight. The laptop is powered by Intel's Core i5-6200U CPU clocked at 2.7 GHz. The CPU is paired with 8GB of DDR4 RAM, with the default hard drive holding 256GB SSD storage via PCIe.
Users can upgrade the device through a free SATA slot. The laptop comes with graphics powered by Nvidia's GeForce 940MX GPU, packing 1GB of dedicated GDDR5 RAM. With a 40Wh battery, users should expect performance of up to 9.5 hours. The larger Mi Notebook Air costs about $750.
According to Xiaomi, the Mi Notebook Air is thinner and lighter as compared to the 13-inch MacBook Air. The two Xiaomi laptops will roll out in China on Aug. 2. Stay tuned for updates on the release in other parts of the world.
Here is footage for details on the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air:
