At 7am this morning Xiaomi took to the stage in Shanghai to announce the Mi Mix 2S , Mi Wireless Charger, Mi Gaming Laptop and Mi AI Speaker Mini. You can learn more details about each of these products in the video below.
The Mi Mix 2S stole the show, an upgrade on the Mix 2 that will be available to pre-order in China from 6pm today and on sale 3 April. The top-end model with 8GB RAM, 256GB storage, global bands and a free wireless charger (also new, retailing at 99 RMB or £11) costs 3,999 RMB, which is about £449 – a crazy price for a flagship.
New features of note include an enhanced 12Mp wide-angle + 12Mp telephoto dual-camera that builds in AI for on-the-fly translations and special background blurring effects. The Sony sensor has enlarged 1.4um pixels, 2x optical zoom and dual-pixel autofocus.
Xiaomi notes that it records a staggering 101 points in DxO Mark – that’s more impressive than the Galaxy S9, though it was the iPhone X it was particularly targeting with its comparisons.
Also new in the Mix 2S is a Snapdragon 845 processor and wireless charging, and a higher-than-ever screen-to-body ratio. Available in white or black (the latter with 18K gold detailing around the camera), the Mix 2S also supports ARCore and Face Unlock.
Next up was the Mi Gaming Laptop, a beast of a laptop that is low-key on the outside but wild on the inside. Specs include a 15.6in screen, Dolby Atmos audio, a Core i7 processor, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD and 1TB HDD storage, and the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 with up to 6GB of VRAM.
Laptops with a similar spec cost nearly twice the amount, and the Mi Gaming Laptop also builds in a superior cooling system with some chunky heatpipes, fans and dedicated Tornado button to quickly cool things down. It will be available from 13 April at 8,999 RMB, just a touch over £1K, with an entry-level model retailing at 5,999 RMB (£675).
Lastly Xiaomi announced its Mi AI Speaker Mini, at 169 RMB (£20). It’s a six-mic smart speaker that builds in its Xio AI voice assistant, though as we’ve seen in the larger model that doesn’t work so well for UK users.
Author: Marie Black, Editorial Director, International
Marie is Editorial Director at Foundry. A Journalism graduate from the London College of Printing, she's worked in tech media for almost 20 years, covering all types of consumer tech from smartphones and their accessories to smart home gear. These days she manages our international editorial teams and leads on content strategy, having witnessed first-hand Foundry's transition from print, to digital, to online - and beyond.