Xiaomi has always been vocal about its foray into the non-smartphone space, as a tech-lifestyle brand. At an online launch event today, the company took major steps towards that future with products that have long been awaited in India — the Mi Box 4K and the True Wireless Earphones 2.
Xiaomi finally launched the Mi 10 flagship in India today, marking the brand’s re-entry into the flagship space. As always, a bunch of accessories and other products shared the stage.
Xiaomi Mi Box 4K
Xiaomi has been the market leader in the smart TV space of India. However, there is still a huge portion of the market that owns a non-smart TV, for whom getting a new TV just for that functionality may not be a wise purchase. To aid such consumers, Xiaomi announced the Mi Box 4K.
As the name suggests, it can take any regular TV and convert it into a smart TV just by connecting the box via HDMI 2.0b. It runs on Android TV OS 9.0 and brings support for over 5,000 apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ Hotstar and most other OTT platforms. It will automatically scale up to your TV’s resolution based on your TV’s capabilities. This is made possible by a 64-bit CPU and the Mali-450 GPU.
Other features include a built-in Chromecast Ultra to cast 4K content directly from your phone. The Mi Box 4K also brings HDR10 support for compliant TVs as well as Dolby Audio and DTS 2.0. It also features Data Saver to be able to consume more videos over data.
I/O includes an HMDI port, a USB 2.0 port for offline media playback and a digital audio output port. Wireless audio can also be streamed via Bluetooth 4.2. Xiaomi says that adding this versatility was one of the reasons why they opted for a bigger box instead of a stick.
The Mi Remote that comes included with the Mi Box 4K also has a direct button to summon Google Assistant, which is deeply integrated with Android TV.
The Xiaomi Mi Box 4K is priced in India at Rs 3,499. The first sale is on May 11 at 12 pm on Mi.com and Flipkart.
Xiaomi Mi True Wireless Earphones 2
Ever since TWS earphones became popular, consumers had been waiting for Xiaomi to bring one of those to India. The Mi True Wireless Earphones are the first true wireless earbuds from the company in India. It is said to be developed over 6-8 months and the sound signature has been “artfully tuned for India”.
It sports a big 14.2mm dynamic driver for fuller sound output. It functions over an LHDC (low latency, high-definition audio) codec to operate at a 3x higher bitrate. The data is transferred over Bluetooth 5.0 for seamless connectivity. All MIUI phones can be paired with these earphones with a single click.
To improve voice fidelity during calls, the Xiaomi Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 uses an array of secondary mics to suppress up to 90% of environmental noise or 30 dB. Notably, this does not come into action during music playback.
As for the design, it has a matte finish which is supposed to be slip-resistant. Xiaomi says that various ear shapes were mapped for optimal compatibility. The stem has a flat cylindrical shape for a distinctive look. The battery is rated for hours of use on a single charge, with up to 14 hours of additional juice in the case. Fast charging over USB Type-C is also supported.
It also brings smart in-ear detection and gesture control to play/pause music, accept calls or skip tracks. There’s a small optical panel for these gestures. The voice assistant can also be summoned via a double-tap.
The Xiaomi Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 are priced at Rs 4,499 in India. However, for the first week (May 12 to May 17), consumers can buy it for a discounted price of Rs 3,999. The first sale is scheduled for May 12 at 12 pm, on Mi.com and Amazon.
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