14 DAY TRIAL // Xiaomi has made it a hobby to go after high-profile names in the tech industry, and after launching the Mi Notebook Air last year to compete against the MacBook, the firm is setting a bigger goal for 2017.
The Chinese firm has just unveiled the Mi Notebook Pro, a completely new Windows 10 device that’s supposed to serve as an alternative to the Apple MacBook Pro, with Xiaomi trying to offer a mix of premium build and powerful hardware with no compromises.
In terms of specs, the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro is indeed a productivity workhorse, though there’s still room for improvements.
The display, for instance, is a 15.6-inch screen that features a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels with no touch support. But while at first glance this is a major drawback in the Windows 10 device ecosystem, the lack of a touch-capable screen does make sense given that Xiaomi positions this new device as a rival to the Apple MacBook Pro, which also lacks such functionality.
No ETA just yet
Xiaomi picked Nvidia’s GeForce MX150 card for graphics, while also offering a full-sized HDMI port for connecting the laptop to other screens.
Additionally, power comes from Intel’s latest-generation quad-core i7 processor and a maximum of 16GB RAM when the most powerful configuration is picked. In terms of storage, the Mi Notebook Pro can go all the way up to 1TB SSD.
Xiaomi didn’t miss the occasion to compare its new laptop with Apple’s, putting the focus on connectivity options as to why customers should choose the Mi Notebook Pro. While the MacBook Pro dongle saga has made the rounds lately, Xiaomi is going for a more complex approach that includes 2 USB ports, 2 USB-C ports, HDMI, a card reader, and a fingerprint sensor.
The company hasn’t provided any details as to when the device is supposed to go on sale, but it’s expected to cost a little below $1,000 for the base hardware configuration.
