Can the Xiaomi Qin AI 4G Feature Phone Take On the JioPhone?

Xiaomi wants a piece of the smart feature phone pie that JioPhone has dominated for more than a year now.

The Qin AI 4G-enabled feature phone from Xiaomi. 

(Photo: Mi Community)

Xiaomi Qin AI Specifications

• 2.8-inch (320 x 240 pixels) QVGA display
  
• 1.3GHz dual-core SC9820E ARM Cortex A53 processor with ARM Mali T82 GPU
  
• 256MB RAM, 512MB internal storage, expandable memory with microSD
  
• Android-based Mocor 5 OS Hybrid Dual SIM (nano- nano / microSD)
  
• 3.5mm audio jack, AAC 1511 box speakers
  
• IR sensor
  
• Dimensions: 132mm×53.8mm×8.5mm
  
• 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, GPS, USB Type-C
  
• 1,480mAh battery
  

At a time when owning a phone is synonymous with smartphones, JioPhone is the only 4G-enabled smart feature phone in the market. Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi, being one of the highest-selling brands in the country, also wants a piece of the smart feature phone pie and has come up with its Android-powered feature phone, the Qin AI through its crowdfunding platform in China. The Indian launch date has not been announced yet.

The Qin AI is 4G VoLTE enabled and comes with a lot of features. It has a 2.8-inch QVGA display and a T9 keypad. But it does not have a camera!

The phone, however, will run on a bifurcated Android OS called Mocor 5. The Qin AI will also feature AI voice features for translations of up to 17 different languages.   

The Qin AI is 4G VoLTE enabled and comes with a lot of features.(Photo Courtesy: Xiaomi)

Where this phone lags behind the JioPhone is that it does not have any cameras. It however, has an infrared sensor that will allow people to control their home appliances (using the phone as a remote).

The feature phone runs on a dual-core processor clocked at 1.3GHz. That makes it a pretty powerful feature phone. This is combined with 256MB RAM and 512MB of internal storage.

It comes with dual SIM support. There will also be a 2G version of the phone as well that will have 8MB RAM and 16MB of internal storage.

The power comes from a 1,480 mAh battery that can give 420 hours of standby time. It will come with a USB Type C charger.

The Qin AI will come in two colours – black and white – and can be pre-ordered from Xiaomi's crowdfunding platform. It is available at 199 Chinese Yuan (Rs 2,000 approx). Can the Xiaomi Qin AI be a worthy opponent to the Reliance JioPhone? Let’s wait for it official launch in India.