14 DAY TRIAL // Xiaomi launched its first tablet not so long ago, marketed under the MiPad name. The slate boasts a 7.9-inch screen with 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution, but before its official launch the rumor mill whispered something about a 9.2-inch tablet coming from the same manufacturer.
After the MiPad made it out into the sunlight, we had to assume rumors were wrong and forgot all about the 9.2-incher. But the tablet has recently bounced back to the forefront.
Get ready for a larger Xiaomi tablet
According to industry sources familiar with the matter reported by Business Korea, China’s Apple (that’s how Xiaomi has been nicknamed) is gearing up to launch a new tablet with a 9.2-inch display that will be marketed for the budget market.
Xiaomi tends to sell its products at low prices and the upcoming device is expected to hit retail shelves with a $100 / €78 price tag. The tablet will boast 1280 x 720 pixel resolution and should draw life from a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor fitted with 1GB of RAM and Adreno 306 GPU.
The tablet will be equipped with 8GB of internal storage (5.8GB of it will be free so users can install whatever apps and games they want) and will take advantage of a dual camera. The upcoming Mi slate is supposed to have Wi-Fi and LTE, so it will probably be one of the most affordable 4G-enabled tablets on the market.
The advent of the new tablet makes it pretty clear that Xiaomi has big plans of conquering the tablet ecosystem. Its previous slate was disruptive enough, being the first one to take advantage of an NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor.
The upcoming budget tablet might not be so impressive specs-wise, but it will certainly boast an ergonomic design that will most likely bring some iPad-reminiscent vibes.
Xiaomi will soon dethrone Samsung in China, tablet-wise
Even with one tablet in its portfolio, Xiaomi is already one of the top vendors in China. Numbers from IDC show that the company managed to grab the third position in the Q3 of 2014 with 7.6% market share. But Samsung continues to rule in the country, albeit the gap between the two is of only 0.6%.
But if Xiaomi managed to jump to third place after only one quarter since the MiPad made a debut into the market, we can only imagine what will happen after the second, wallet-friendly tablet arrives in the wild.
Xiaomi has successfully set up business in territories like India, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia, but they are yet to attack the US market, although it shouldn't take long before the assault begins.
