TechRadar Verdict
Pros
- +
Premium design, compact, good audio quality
Cons
- -
No microSD card support (Offered with the Chinese variant)
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Chinese tech giant Xiaomi has a huge fan following in India. The company has successfully managed to sell its affordable yet powerful smartphones, Power Banks, LED lights and other products in the country. All these products are perceived as value for money offerings by the price conscious Indian consumers.
Xiaomi recently launched the Redmi Note 3 smartphone in India, which is already making headlines as it is a feature packed phone at a competitive pricing. At the same event the company also launched a new speaker- Mi Bluetooth, which will go on sale later this month at a price of Rs 1,999.
We have got a unit with us and here is what we think about the product.
Design
Xiaomi Mi Bluetooth speaker has a compact design and comes with an aluminum body. It is designed like a power bank and will appeal the youth with its sleek design and its colourful variants. The quality of the material used in the construction is of good quality and at Rs 1,999, the speaker offers a premium feel.
With a weight of 270 grams and dimensions of 168x24.5x58mm, the speaker is quite compact and can be easily carried around if you are planning a weekend trip.
We got the Gold colour variant but it is also available other colors such as Pink and Blue.
Ports and connectivity
With Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, you can wirelessly connect the Xiaomi Mi Bluetooth speaker with your smartphone or tablet. We paired it with Samsung Galaxy A5, Gionee S6, Yu Yureka and it streamed the music without an issue. It can support a distance of up to 15 meters. You can opt for the AUX-in port to listen to music if you don't want to pair it with your smartphone with the speaker.
The Bluetooth pairing button, power and volume buttons are placed on the right edge, while the left edge houses the aux in, mic and USB port.
Xiaomi has also added a built-in mic that allows you to make and receive calls wirelessly when connected to a smartphone. We made some standard phone calls and quality was adequate without any issues.
One thing we would like to mention here is that, Xiaomi is also offering a microSD card slot in the Chinese variant of the Mi Bluetooth speaker, which you will not find it in the variant to be available in India, i.e. the international variant. It would have been better if the company would have added the feature in the international variant as well.
Audio quality
Coming on to the audio performance, the speaker offers a pretty loud and clear sound considering its compact design. If you are planning to have a room party, then these speakers will be adequate. What we really liked about the speaker is the fact that even at the full volume; the audio quality does not get distorted, which is not the case for speakers at this price point. We suppose that the tonal balance feature effectively ensures that the sound does not distort even at the highest volumes. We tried a number of tracks including Bass heavy, vocals and some acoustics and were pleased by the audio quality delivered by the speaker unit.
However the speaker unit vibrates at full volume but that does not impact the audio performance.
Battery
Xiaomi Mi Bluetooth speaker is backed by a 1500mAh battery unit, which as per Xiaomi delivers a music playback of 8 hours on a full charge. We played the music wirelessly for about 5 hours and the speaker still had juice left to go on. It can easily give you a 6 to 7 hours music playback with one full charge cycle. You can long press the Bluetooth pair button to check the battery status.
Likes
Mi Bluetooth speaker offers a premium design and the sound does not distort even at the full volume. Moreover with the built-in mic, you can easily make and receive phone calls.
Dislikes
The microSD card slot feature, which is offered in the Chinese variant, would have added a great value to the overall package.
Verdict
At Rs 1,999, Xiaomi Mi Bluetooth speaker is a value for money product. It has a premium feel to it and does not fail to impress with the audio performance. You can easily carry it around and even make and receive calls with the built-in mic support.
