Xiaomi Mi Gaming Laptop takes aim at Razer with its first gaming laptop
The new laptop from Xiaomi takes its cues from Apple and Razer, and packs discrete graphics and bling LED lights for gaming.
A new phone wasn't the only dish on Xiaomi's new menu on Tuesday.
At its press conference in Shanghai, the Chinese company also introduced a new entry into its line of Mi Notebooks, and this one comes with specs suitable for gaming .
Clad in black metal, the Mi Gaming Laptop 15.6, as the name suggests, comes with a 15.6-inch display. It's the largest in Xiaomi's stable, and there's no logo on the shell -- Xiaomi says it prefers to keep it clean and subtle.
When you want to game though, the Gaming Laptop comes blinged out with LEDs under the keyboard and lights on the side as well.
While it's not as slim as the Razer Blade (Xiaomi didn't provide numbers, but it was pretty thick), the laptop sports four USB 3.0 ports, HDMI 2.0, USB Type-C and a LAN port.
Inside, the Mi Gaming Laptop uses a seventh-gen Intel Core i7 processor, has 16GB RAM as default (with a max of 32GB) and uses either a Nvidia GTX1060 or a GTX1050Ti for discrete graphics. Gamers will also like that it has special customizable buttons on the left side of the keyboard. A special button will turn on all the fans to cool down the laptop while you're gaming.
While it doesn't use Max Q technology like the Asus Zephryus or the Acer Predator Triton 700 , Xiaomi's Mi Gaming Laptop has a specially designed cooling system that vents out the hot air to the sides and back.
With a starting price of 5,999 Chinese yuan (which converts to about $955, £675 or AU$1,235) for the lower-end GTX1050Ti model and 8,999 yuan (roughly $1,435, £1,010 or AU$1,850) for the top-of-the-line model, the Mi Gaming Laptop 15.6 will go on sale in China on April 13.
If you're thinking of getting one though, bear in mind that it will only come with a Chinese version of Microsoft Windows, which means there's no English language. You'll have to buy and install your own version of Windows, unless you read Mandarin.
Quick specs
- Processor: Seventh-gen Intel Core i7
- Display: 15.6-inch full-HD
- Graphics: Nvidia GTX1050Ti, Nvidia GTX1060
- Memory: 16GB RAM, up to two 256GB PCIE SSD