Xiaomi today launched the Mi Notebook Air, which happens to be its foray into the notebook segment. Also, not surprisingly, the company which fancies itself to be an Apple admirer to the core has modeled its latest notebook along the lines of the MacBook Air while vouching to better it in every conceivable manner.
The Mi Notebook Air comes across in two size options – 13.3-inch and the more portable 12.5-inch though there are several aspects that are common with both the versions. That includes a 1080p display, backlit keyboard along with a USB Type-C charging port for both among others.
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air Specs: Two variants
Coming to the specifics, the 13.3-inch version of the Mi Notebook Air has the backing of an Intel Core i5-6200U chip having a max clock speed of up to 2.7GHz. Aided in its efforts is the NVIDIA GeForce 940MX GPU that comes with its own 1 GB GDDR5 RAM. That apart, there is also an 8 GB DDR4 RAM along with 256 GB of SSD while there is also a free SATA slot that will allow for further expansion. It also comes with two USB 3.0 ports along with an HDMI slot.
Xiaomi also promises 9.5 hours of runtime with the 13.3-inch Notebook Air thanks to its 40Wh battery which can further acquire half of its charge in just 30 mins when charged using the supplied USB Type-C charger. The notebook also boasts of a thickness of just 14.8mm while tipping the scales at 1.28kg, both of which, Xiaomi claims even better the MacBook Air. Saving the best for the last, the Mi NoteBook Air will be priced 4,999 yuan which comes to just about $750.
As for the 12.5-inch model, it comes across as an even lighter and thinner alternative to its bigger cousin besides being priced less too but has less processing oomph to boot. Powered by an Intel Core M3 CPU, the model makes do with no dedicated GPU and has 4 GB of RAM along with just 128 GB of SSD memory. However, there is a free PCIe slot here as well though any extra memory to be added has to be done by Xiaomi, something that is equally applicable to the 13.3-inch model as well.
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air Price and Availability
However, the one positive aspect of the model is its two extra hours of battery life which befits its portable tagline. The smaller model is also cheaper in that it costs 3,499 yuan, which comes to around $520.
Both versions run Windows 10 and will go on sale in China starting August 2. International availability remains a mystery as yet.
