Xiaomi branches out from phones with a new TV and a water purifier
The Chinese company's smartphone business is thriving, but it has wider ambitions for the electronics market in its home country, including a range of Android TVs.
Chinese company Xiaomi, best known for its smartphones, continues to branch out into new product areas.
Its latest devices: a new ultra high-definition smart TV and a water purifier, both of which are available only in China.
At one time, Xiaomi's smartphones, too, were available only in the electronics maker's home country -- where they have been incredibly popular -- but Xiaomi has its sights on broader horizons. Its phones are now available in locations including India, Singapore, Malaysia and Brazil, its first market outside Asia.
Xiaomi also now has a modest online presence in the US and Europe, through an online store that sells odds and ends including battery packs, headphones and an activity tracker.
With smartphone sales slowing in China, the company is eyeing other areas of growth in its home market.
Its new 48-inch Mi TV 2S, unveiled at a press event in Beijing, will be going on sale alongside its three other smart TVs, which have screen sizes of 40, 49 and 55 inches. The relatively low price of 2,999 yuan ($480) for a smart TV suggests that the device is aimed at first-time TV owners in China. Xiaomi's earlier Mi TVs were similarly inexpensive.
The Mi TV 2S comes with a slim 9.9mm frame made of aluminum and uses a Samsung 4K panel. It boasts Dolby Audio and sports an MStar 6A928 processor capable of rendering 4K images at 60 frames per second. The UHD television will have access to free content such as movies and TV shows through Xiaomi's own Internet TV platform.
Other specs of the TV include 2GB of RAM, 8GB of onboard storage, Bluetooth 4.0 and 802.11ac Wi-Fi. The TV is powered by Android 5.0, but with Xiaomi's own Miui TV interface layered on top.
Xiaomi also added a new device to its growing stable of health products -- the Mi Water Purifier. Much like the Mi Air Purifier, the Water Purifier is targeted at users living in polluted Chinese cities. Xiaomi claims the purifier, which will retail for 1,299 yuan ($210), is capable of cleaning up to 76 barrels of water per day.
The company told CNET that it has "no plans" to sell these products outside of China.
