Bryan Smith·
GadgetsTech newsTechnologyXiaomi

With the Mi NoteBook Air, Xiaomi challenges Apple's MacBook

Xiaomi’s newest laptop, the Mi NoteBook Air, is a Windows 10 competitor which looks to oust Apple’s MacBook lineup with both brains and brawn.

Earlier this year, ASUS took a swipe at both the MacBook and Surface Pro, and now Xiaomi wants in on the action, too. Enter the Mi Notebook Air – the firm’s newest laptop which comes in both 13.3″ and 12.5″ inch flavours.
The Mi Notebook Air – that name does sound familiar, right? – runs Windows 10 and sports a full HD display housed in a metal body, and supports USB Type-C charging as well as two USB slots. The Mi Notebook Air further sports individually backlit keys.
Read: Hands-on preview: Xiaomi Mi 5 ““ the times, they are a-changin‘
Under the bonnet, the larger of the two devices is powered by an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and an expandable SSD slot. Further, there’s a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce 940MX graphics card aboard.


The smaller 12.5″ model is instead powered by an Intel Core M3 processor with integrated graphics, 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB (expandable) SSD.
Both devices will come equipped with a feature named ‘Xiaomi Sync’, which will wirelessly pair data from a Xiaomi smartphone. As the Mi Notebook Air will retail in China first and might not even get an international launch, this is an important feature to consider that most of Google’s services are banned within the country.
The Mi Notebook Air will retain for approximately ¥3599 CNY ($540 USD) at its 12.5″ form factor, while the larger 13.3″ device will cost ¥4,999 ($750 USD).
Xiaomi wasted no time in comparing its latest offering to that of Apple’s, and cited that the Mi Notebook air is  13% thinner and 11% smaller than its rival thanks to a tiny 5.56mm bezel.
Read: Xiaomi‘s Redmi Note 3 and Redmi 3 Pro are heading to South Africa
What are your thoughts on Xiaomi’s laptop offering? Were it to come to South Africa, would you buy it? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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