Xiaomi Laptop Review - Mi Notebook 14 Series

Desh Ka Laptop - Oh Really!?

Mi Notebook 14 and Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition range of laptops are launched on June 11, 2020 . This launch is 20 days short  to 6th Anniversary of brand's launch in India.  For me it is very intriguing why The maverick Manu Jain , a guy who knows how to milk the social media platforms so well, could miss the date 15 July !! May be this missed launch date could be another deliberate attempt to negate any Anti China sentiments which is building slowly but very strongly across India. 

In hindsight it could have made another solid marketing coup to celebrate India Success story and as a token of appreciation launch a new product category !!  

July 15, 2014,when Xiaomi (in those days known as) Apple of China 🍎 entered the Indian market with an exclusive sales tie up with Flipkart for smartphone Mi 3. Phone priced at Rs.13999, was sold out within 30 minutes of launch... 

Well those were days when other brothers from same mother  i. e. Vivo,OPPO, Realme, OnePlus had not entered this part of Himalaya... 

Instead of its tried and tested strategy of rock bottom prices, brand has put little more emphasis on style,  specification and at the same time value for money.  How much this will be a success, only time will tell as laptop industry already have gone through lot of turmoil in last couple of years and looks very lean-and-fit now. Unlike mobiles this product has 5 Best Laptop Brands Apple HP Dell Lenovo and Acer across the globe and each of them has his market share fortified. 

Anyway coming back to our main point, it was well anticipated that the stellar performance in last 5 years have given enough confidence to Xiaomi to take higher bets and add newer product categories ..Smart band,  air purifier, smart shoes were few of those test launches used to gauge Indian preferences for variety of products. 

Laptop could have been launched 3 years before, but looks brand was not in hurry... 

What  has been launched now is a strong feature rich lineup with 5 model variations and more interestingly the name given to them NOTEBOOK!!  Where it is now aiming to realize the phrase Apple of China 🍎 by taking head on the famed notebook series of laptop from Apple albeit metaphorically. Or u never know it may be literally!  with Chinese  tech dominance spread loud and clear around the globe . Huawei's 5G technology niche is beyond debate now .. 

  

Launch Offers and Price in India 

The Mi Notebook 14 and Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition laptops are being sold from Amazon,  Mi.com, Mi Home stores and Mi Studios. Offline launch of these Ha expected to start very soon. 

Basic model Notebook 14 starting at entry price of Rs. 41999 with top model Notebook 14 Horizon Edition priced at Rs. 54999

Mi Notebook 14 specifications, features

Mi Notebook 14- Xiaomi

The Mi Notebook 14 is based in Window 10 Home.  Screen size is 14-inch full-HD (1920*1080pixel) with 16:9 aspect ratio  makes it more of OndGo machine .

Processor is Intel Core i5 , 10th-generation, coupled with up to Nvidia GeForce MX250 graphics and 8GB DDR4 RAM and up to 512GB of SATA SSD. There are 3mm thin bezels on the top and sides of display panel.  

This is interesting piece, what purpose 3mm bezel will serve at the cost of inbuilt Webcam ... Solution given is a USB webcam which adds a kind of design element in whole display unlike of those zombies placed on top of screen!! Battery is 46Wh and as per brand this can deliver up-to 10 hours kg usage on a single change.  Besides notebook weighs 1.5 kilogram. 

Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition Specifications

Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition

This series come with same display but boasts of a higher 91% screen to body ratio.  It is lowered by 10th generation Intel Core i7 -10510U processor,  Nvidia GeForce MX350 GPU and 8 GB DDR4 RAM. The storage capacity insame for both options in Horizon series with a slight variation where an NVMe SSD on one and a SATA 3 SSD on the other.  Battery capacity is also same is basic model.The use of Intel's 10th Gen processors is a wise addition as this will give Xiaomi a marketing advantage, since majority of competitors are still selling 8th Gen models. This series is slightly lighter than basic model at 1.35kilogram.

Software and usability 

With cheap prices comes along few things bundled..  In Xiaomi mobiles cases it was spam and bloatware.  And these teething issues might be in customers mind who think of buying Xiaomi laptop.  Good thing is that there are not of these pre-loaded stuff around in this machine... 

2 pre-loaded apps are as claimed by Xiaomi are to drive up the productivity of the user. Blaze Unlock uses Bluetooth to detect a compatible Mi band , and lock the screen or sign in you basis your proximity to the user 

Smart share is another app , which is kind of a copy of Apple AirDrop letting u send files and bits of information from one device to another which is for In-house devices only..  This app is probably the only visible link I could find with famed Apple Notebook nomenclature Notebook name brand gave to its laptop ..

Mi Support app is given to link user with Xiaomi's website,which looks an unnecessary effort. 

Keyboard with back lighting would have been a ideal suit specially for Horizon Series. 

Display screen and sound output are just above average,which could pose a challenge for the brand, especially when you are entering a well guarded territory .

Interface 

Interface-Connectivity-Mi Notebook 14A

1* Type- C^TM USB 3.1 Gen 1 ( For data transfer only) *Horizon Edition

2* Type-A USB 3.1 Gen 1

1* USB 2.0

1* HDMI 

1* Combo Audio Jack

1* Charging Port 

Audio 

2*2 W Stereo Speakers

DTS Audio Processing App Support 

3.5mm headphone jack 

Wireless Connectivity

Wireless LAN : Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi 2*2

Bluetooth:          Bluetooth V5.0

Verdict 

Thin-and-Light- Mi 14 Notebook

With a clear departure of cheapest kid in the block positioning, I don't expect a stampede kind of scenario from buyers. With tight specifications loaded in attractive and Thin-and-Light machine it still makes as a compelling choice especially for those who have grown with generations of Xiaomi's phone in last 6 years.. For them it could be a kind of graduation ceremony of moving from small to big screen in portable segment.. 

The leadership team of Xiaomi India is dominated by Indians, it starts from Manu Jain from top ;which is unlike many other Chinese companies operating in tech space of India who are getting choked by mainland Chinese people with each passing day.. 

This Indian Talent pool could be a reason that brand has come up with this machine which caters to the most undeserved market segment which is Thin-and-Light laptop. Many of the comparable specifications offered by Big 5  are either too expensive or too bulky and I see this as a sweet opening for Xiaomi to create a new niche for itself !! 

With the onslaught of astute marketing for which Xiaomi has become famous now, surely this sweet opening will be decorated and sang loud-and clear in coming months.  

Ongoing border skirmish with China piling up each day making public sentiments very fickle towards anything and everything Chinese.. 

How Manu and team will negate the Vocal for Local slogan for Chinese brands/products  will be the real test for a brand who so far has played  purely on price and perceptions so far !!

Will we hear Desk Ka Laptop Cry..!! 

OMNAMAH

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