Xiaomi has launched not one or two, but three different products on Tuesday in China. The company’s CEO, Lei Jun, showcased the Mi Mix 2S, which thankfully doesn’t carry the iPhone X-like notch. The brand also debuted its first-ever gaming notebook that packs top-end hardware, along with Nvidia GTX graphics card in tow.
And finally, they showed the Mi AI Mini speaker, which connects via Wi-Fi and offers voice-recognition-based music and content search. All three products hit Xiaomi’s home market first, while the Mix 2S will come to India in the coming months.
The Mi Mix 2S succeeds the Mi Mix 2 from last year, as Xiaomi’s flagship bezel-less screen-bearing phone. The phone’s front has been retained, and the iPhone X-like notch has been skipped (for a change). The phone packs Snapdragon 845 processor, and will be available in three variants: 6GB RAM + 64GB storage, 6GB + 128GB and 8GB + 256GB storage.
As expected, the Mi Mix 2S now supports wireless charging.
Other than the customary hardware upgrades, the camera on the Mi Mix 2S also has been doubled up at the back, which has become the norm. You get dual 12-megapixel shooters at the back, sporting aperture f/1.8 and f/2.4 respectively. The company has made tall claims about its quality, comparing it with the iPhone X, but that’ll be decided later.
The Mi Mix 2S was highly detailed with Xiaomi’s XiaoI voice assistant, but that’s unlikely to be seen outside of the Chinese market. The interface is identical to that of the Google Assistant, and at the launch, XiaoI was demoed with Siri on the iPhone X.
The phone doesn’t sport the headphone jack and you’ll have to live with the USB Type C to 3.5mm connector from now on. It’s loaded with a 3400mAh battery. The Mi Mix 2S has been priced starting from RMB 3,299 (Rs 34,171 approx) for the basic variant, going up to RMB 3,999 (Rs 41,420 approx) for the 8GB model.
In addition to the phone, Xiaomi launched its first Mi gaming notebook, and boy what a sweet package they’ve got here. The laptop carries a 15.6-inch screen, with Core i5 and Core i7 processor variants. You get 16GB of RAM, along with 256GB SSD + 1TB hard disk to aid fast boot time and give storage space. The graphics duty has been handed to Nvidia’s GTX 1060 card. This one’s priced starting from RMB 5,999 (Rs 62,130) for the Core i5 variant.
Sadly, the fact that Xiaomi hasn’t launched any of its laptops in India means this one is unlikely to hit our shores either.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)