We’ve recently had the chance to get acquainted with Xiaomi’s new laptop offering; the Mi Notebook Air. Can this Chinese superpower best the MacBook?
Xiaomi are traditionally more associated with mobile devices – such as smartphones – where the firm is renowned for one key strategy; making powerful devices at affordable price points. With the Mi Notebook Air, the company has now turned its attention to one of Apple’s other products – the MacBook.
There’s a Chinese idiom that is apt for this equation; 如虎添翼, which roughly translates to ‘like a tiger that has grown wings’ – an expression referring to something that has redoubled power.
Read: Why the new MacBook Pro has me more disillusioned with Apple than ever
The fact is, I invoke the sentiment here not because Xiaomi has entered an area with renewed impetus, but because Apple has given the company a powerful entry point to the market now that it has effectively killed the product the Mi Notebook Air was designed to compete with – the MacBook Air.
Now that Apple’s standard MacBook occupies the entry level MacBook market, two measures have opened the door for many manufacturers to take up the space the MacBook Air has occupied for years; firstly, there’s versatility, and secondly, affordability.
Where the MacBook has two ports and occupies pricey territory, the Mi Notebook Air is perfectly positioned to become a key rival; it bears both the ports the MacBook doesn’t have, and a price tag it can’t achieve. Ironically, that’s something which might not have happened had Apple kept the MacBook Air alive for just a little while longer.
So then, we find ourselves with our mitts all over the Mi Notebook Air at just the right juncture – a time where 2015 MacBook Air models will begin their last, glorious run, and where Apple has surrendered the keys to the kingdom.
“Look-and-feel wise, there’s an appealing factor about the Mi Notebook Air. Its svelte design cobbles together the best parts of the MacBook Air and Pro, and there’s a glorious keyboard that ties both of those premises together.”
At first glance, you wouldn’t know you have a Xiaomi product with the Mi Notebook Air. There’s a substantial lack of brand identity onboard the device – a change of pace should you be mulling a migration from the brightly lit Apple logo of yore. The Mi Notebook Air bears a solitary ‘Mi’ logo on the bottom chin of its display, and that’s about it – there’s no branding to be seen anywhere else.
As this is Xiaomi’s first laptop, that’s a surprising design decision; yet its one that doesn’t detract from the offering.
Let’s talk about hardware for a second. On board the Mi Notebook Air, consumers can expect to get a Core i5 processor clocked at up to 2.7Ghz, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and a 13.3″ full HD display.
With two USB 3 Type-A ports, a USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack and an HDMI port, this is -out of the box, at least – a far more versatile competitor than Apple’s standard MacBook. A claimed 9.5 of battery life rounds out the package.
For the dainty-handed or avid traveller, there’s a smaller 13.” version which lacks discrete graphics and offers a downsized 4GB of RAM and 128GB SSD. However, users can expect a longer lifespan with the smaller model, where a claimed battery life of 11.5 hours is punted.
Look-and-feel wise, there’s an appealing factor about the Mi Notebook Air. Its svelte design cobbles together the best parts of the MacBook Air and Pro, and there’s a glorious keyboard that ties both of those premises together. Keys are flat, but bear just the right amount of travel to be comfortable.
Then there’s the trackpad, which sports precision and ease many Mac users – myself included – will need to calibrate in System Preferences to achieve. Between these two offerings, the Mi Notebook Air has a sense of quiet confidence – and now that Apple has left its own Air out of the equation, Xiaomi can afford to boast a little.
“So then, we find ourselves with our mitts all over the Mi Notebook Air at just the right juncture – a time where 2015 MacBook Air models will begin their last, glorious run, and where Apple has surrendered the keys to the kingdom.”
If there’s a weakness, it’s that the device doesn’t maximize what Windows 10 has to offer; namely, a touch-screen. While the laptop’s display is delightfully thin (just enough so to make installing a touchscreen difficult) one is left disappointed when extending their finger, pressing the screen, and waiting for magic to happen that is simply not present.
Still, if you’re of the older Windows crowd who can remember life before touch, or if you’re a MacBook convert looking to get to grips with what Windows has to offer, the Mi Notebook Air looks to have redoubled market potential – especially so in the months to come as consumers mull out the decision to stick it out with the new MacBook Pro or invest in a Surface-derivative. Our early verdict on the Mi Notebook Air? You could do a lot worse.
Read: Xiaomi unveils the Mi Note 2 ““ an incendiary, but less explosive Galaxy Note 7
What are your thoughts? Would you buy a Xiaomi-made laptop? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
