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Xiaomi to rebrand its premium product series from ‘Mi’ to ‘Xiaomi’

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While the corporate brand will continue to be represented by the well-known ‘Mi’ logo, Xiaomi India have today announced with an aim to unify its global presence and close the perception gap between the brand, Xiaomi’s premium ‘Mi’ series products will now be replaced with the new ‘Xiaomi’ logo.

However, ‘Redmi’ will continue with the same brand logo and the new naming convention, Xiaomi and Redmi, will be applied across both brands’ TVs, Laptops, and IoT offerings. Thus, with the new brand identity, Xiaomi plans to offer two distinct product series under the parent corporate brand – which will continue to represented by the ‘Mi’ logo, which had undergone a few changes earlier this year by adopting a softer, rounder contour on the corners of the previously square-shaped logo.

Commenting on the announcement Jaskaran Singh Kapany, Head of Marketing, Xiaomi India, said, “As a consumer-centric brand, our focus has always been on bringing new and innovative technology across segments that cater to the consumers evolving needs. We have been receiving an excellent response for our premium product range from consumers and Xiaomi fans. According to CounterPoint in May 2021, Xiaomi India captured ~14% market share in the 20K-45K category. This empowered us to push the boundaries of technology and innovation further to elevate the consumer experience.”

“Being a leading technology brand with a strong presence across the globe, our aim is to have a unified presence. With this new logo shift, we envision bridging the perception gap between our brand and products. The new Xiaomi logo will be used for our premium products that represent the pinnacle of technology and offer a premium experience. Ushering in the festive season, Xiaomi’s premium product series ‘Mi’ will be renamed to ‘Xiaomi’”, the press release mentions.  

Xiaomi aims that this new identity will propel the brand forward in the near future.  

Mi Notebook’s 2021 series comes with significant upgrades over its predecessor, the Mi Notebook 14

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Mi India, a brand that has an extensive portfolio of smartphones and smart TVs, have announced the launch of Mi Notebook Pro and Mi Notebook Ultra as a part of the Mi Notebook 2021 portfolio. These sleek ultra-light notebooks strive to offer better performances in all sectors, from having all-day long battery life, to performing heavy computational tasks swiftly with the latest processors and hardware.

Both laptops come in an aerospace-grade Series 6 aluminium body, with Mi TrueLife+ and TrueLife displays, Type-C fast charging, and a host of other features. Let’s get to know more about what each laptop is made of.

Mi Notebook Ultra

With a precisely-cut aircraft-grade metal body, the minimalistic appearance of the Mi Notebook Ultra hides a 11th Generation TigerLake Intel Core i7 and i5 H35 series processors (different variants of the Mi Notebook Ultra), the former being able to clock up to a maximum of 4.8GHz while operating at a TDP of 35W. The Ultra is also integrated with the Intel Iris X graphics and dedicated AI hardware, which aids casual gaming and decent workloads of the content creating process.

The Mi Notebook Ultra packs a 15.6-inch display with a 3.2K resolution, 16:10 aspect ratio, and a 90Hz refresh rate. The display also brings support for eye safety with hardware level TÜV Rheinland certification and DC Dimmingwhich reduces eye strain.

Additionally, the Mi Notebook Ultra is also equipped with 16GB of 3200MHz DDR4 RAM and 512GB of NVMe SSD storage. This laptop utilises a large 70 WHr battery which offers up to 12 hours of battery life, and can be charged from 0 to 50% in within 45 minutes through a 65W USB Type-C charger.

Mi Notebook Ultra also comprises the widely-requested backlit keyboard that comes with three levels of illumination: off, di, and bright. Keys have a concaved curved top and a travel distance of 1.5mm. The trackpad too, is 62% larger in area as compared to the predecessor and it supports Windows Precision Drivers that support gestures and multi-finger taps for shortcuts to various programs and commands.

To create an immersive viewing environment by delivering good quality sound, the Mi Notebook Ultra also comes with a 2 x 2W speakers. Additionally, the laptop comes with the latest Thunderbolt 4 port, an HDMI 1.4 port, USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a USB 2.0 connector for peripherals. Connectivity-wise, the Mi Notebook Ultra offers Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1.  It also has a fingerprint scanner for security reasons.  

Mi Notebook Pro

The Mi Notebook Pro’s build is similar to that of the Mi Notebook Ultra, and is just 17.3mm thin and weights just 1.4 kg. The Mi Notebook Pro has a 14-inch 2.5K QHD+ screen which offers incredible sharpness with an 88% screen-to-body ratio. The Notebook Pro is powered by the latest 11th gen Intel Core i5 and i7 Tigerlake H35 processors which clock up to 4.8GHz. The Intel Iris X GPU, along with dedicated AI hardware, is fit for casual gaming and creative workloads.

The screen is calibrated to offer accurate colour reproduction with 100% coverage of the sRGB colour gamut and it comes with the TUV low blue light certification and DC dimming. The laptop comes with an 8 or 16GB DDR4 3200MHz RAM and has an internal storage capacity of up to 512GB of NVMe SSD storage.  

Both the Mi NoteBook Ultra and Mi NoteBook Pro run-on Windows 10 Home and will be eligible for free upgrade to Windows 11 when available. They also come preloaded with MS Office Home & Student Edition 2019, and Mi SmartShare.

Pricing

The Mi Notebook Ultra –

  • Intel® Core™ i5-11300H + 8GB RAM: INR 59,999
  • Intel® Core™ i5-11300H + 16GB RAM: INR 63,999
  • Intel® Core™ i7-11370H + 16GB RAM: INR 76,999

Mi Notebook Pro –

  • Intel® Core™ i5-11300H + 8GB RAM: INR 56,999
  • Intel® Core™ i5-11300H + 16GB RAM: INR 59,999
  • Intel® Core™ i7-11370H + 16GB RAM: INR 72,999

Availability and offers

The Mi Notebook Ultra and Pro will be available from August 31, 2021 on Mi.com, Mi Homes, Amazon and retail stores. HDFC card members can avail additional discount of up to Rs. 4,500.

Xiaomi Redmi 9A is the new heavyweight in the sub-10K range

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Redmi’s A series of smartphones have harnessed a lot of national and global attention over the past years and now, the Redmi 9A is going to continue the trend owing to its aggressive and affordable pricing and especially, to what it has to offer. The Redmi 9A launches today on major platforms and it promises to be one the most valuable entry-level smartphones.

The Redmi 9A features a 6.53” HD+ IPS LCD display that offers a 20:9 aspect ratio and a brightness of 400 nits. It also comes with the TUV Rheinland Low Blue Light certification, for a safer viewing experience.  The Redmi 9A is powered by the MediaTek G25 octa-core processor – which, through its ‘HyperEngine’ technology, is known to provide smooth gaming performances and enhanced power efficiency, thus providing much better user experience.

The Redmi 9A comes with a large 5000mAh battery, a 2+1 dual SIM slot, and a dedicated microSD slot that helps to expand the memory to up to 512GB. The Redmi 9A sports a 13MP camera in the rear with intelligent features such as the much-sought-after AI Portrait Mode and the AI Scene Detection. Features like document scanning and kaleidoscope are also supported by the camera. The 5MP front camera also aids in the AI Face Unlock feature.

Weighing just 194g, the Redmi 9A comes with a default internal storage of 32GB and is available in two RAM variants: 2GB RAM and 3GB RAM for Rs. 6,799 and Rs. 7,499, respectively. The Redmi 9A will be available on Amazon, Flipkart, Mi Homes, and Mi Studios starting from September 4, 2020. It will be available in Nature Green, Midnight Black, and Sea Blue colours.

For more information, please visit this page.

Xiaomi Mi TV Stick with built-in Chromecast launches tomorrow

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With their range of affordable and feature-rich products spread across different categories such as smartphones, televisions, and laptops, Xiaomi has now launched the Mi TV Stick at an affordable price of Rs. 2,790. This lightweight TV stick does pack in some interesting features which would make streaming easier for users with non-smart TV sets.

The Xiaomi Mi TV Stick runs on Android TV 9.0 and it supports Full HD resolution. Since the Mi TV stick runs official Android OS, it gives access to over 5000+ apps and games on Google Play Store including well-known platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, Hungama Play, Zee5, Aha Entertainment, and more.

Additionally, the Mi TV Stick also comes with a Bluetooth remote with dedicated hotkeys for Netflix and Prime Video. Chromecast is integrated within the Mi TV Stick so that users can cast content from different devices such as phones, laptops, or tablets.

The Mi TV Stick is powered by a quad-core Cortex A53 processor and a 1GB RAM and possesses 8GB of storage. To adapt to the growing consumption of online content, the Mi TV Stick is also equipped with Google’s Data Server which allows upto three times more content streaming.

The Mi TV Stick weighs just 28.5g and is equipped with Bluetooth v4.2, an HDMI port and a USB port. It alo upports 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi signals. It supports a resolution of 1920×1080 at 60fps, Dolby Audio and DTS Digital.

The Mi TV Stick is available at an affordable price of Rs. 2,790 and it goes on sale on August 7 at 12 p.m. on Mi Homes, Mi.com, and Flipkart.

For more information, please visit this page.

Redmi Note 9 offers quality at an extremely affordable price

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The Redmi Note 9 is set to launch on July 24, 2020 and has some big shoes to fill following the success of its predecessor, the Redmi Note 8, which was released less than a year ago in October 2019. The Redmi Note 9’s affordability, with prices starting at Rs. 11,999, coupled with all it has to offer, makes it a highly-competitive phone in the budget smartphone market.

The Note 9 is powered by the new MediaTek Helio G85 octa-core processor, which consists of 6 Cortex-A55 cores at 1.8GHz and two Cortex A-75 cores at 2GHz. Redmi Note 9 also strives to offer high-performance gaming experiences to the users through the Mali-G52 GPU and a 6.53” Full HD+ Dot Display, which offers a resolution of 2340×1080.

Offering a 25% increase in battery life over the Redmi Note 8, the new Note 9 houses a large 5020mAh battery which can be charged quickly through the 22.5W Fast Charge technology. When it comes to photography, the Note 9’s quad camera is similar to that of Note 8. It’s equipped with a 48MP main wide-angle camera, 8MP 188-degree ultra-wide camera, 2MP macro camera and a 2MP depth sensor for sharper portraits. The Redmi Note 9 houses a 13MP front camera too.

Features like the AI Face Unlock, and a Corning Gorilla Glass 5, make the Redmi Note 9 richer and fancier, while also operating on the custom MIUI 11 which is based on Android 10.

The Redmi Note 9 offers an LPDDR4x RAM and is available in 3 RAM/ROM variants: the 4GB+64GB for Rs. 11,999; the 4GB+128GB for 13,499; and the 6GB+128GB for 14,999. The new phone is going to be available on Mi’s website, Amazon, Mi Homes and Mi Studios from July 24, 2020.