Xiaomi Mi Notebok Air 12.5″ and 13.3″ Comparison

Xiaomi has jumped into the fight for mobile technology domination with its Mi and Mi Note devices hitting the market. The Chinese handset maker is not hiding its ambition to lead the pack. Its position has strengthened enough to set the rules. News about the launch of its own laptops sparked a sharp difference of views: analytics stayed cautious about assumptions and the fans stretched their imagination. At the beginning of 2016, Xiaomi cast back rumors and confirmed to be soon releasing the product. Later in the year, two models were presented: Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 12.5″ inch display with a lightweight body and 11.5 hours of autonomous operation, Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 13.3″ inch display with a powerful processor and active cooling technology. A more detailed comparison of the two is in the article below.

Details make the design

Both laptops stand out with their refined and minimalistic design. You will not see any logos or inscriptions, information stickers under the keyboard, telling how cool this device is. A clean cut surface gives an illusion of infinity of its forms.

Ultrabooks are made of noble materials. For the unibody, there was used aluminum and the display comes in toughened glass. The “shell” is pleasant to touch and does not splotch. If handled with care the laptops will maintain its perfect condition for much longer.

The keyboard has a qualitative backlighting with 3 nit brightness. It’s soft and the even glow is not intrusive and, if needed, brightness can be adjusted to a preferable level. The lighting does not consume a lot of battery power.

A glass buttonless touchpad is another highlight of Xiaomi Mi Notebooks. It recognizes multi-touch and supports gestures. A wide sliding area makes it easier to get accustomed to.

Every laptop is equipped with 1 MP front camera, which records HD-videos in 1280×720 format. It performs well during the video chat and delivers appealing selfies.

High-end display

Xiaomi has taught turkey to fly when it comes to mobile technology. If we consider its smartphone displays, there’s a lot to be proud of: realistic colors, wide viewing angle, great visibility in direct sunlight. Those are one of many features that put Xiaomi into a playground with “tough guys”. Laptop displays are much more fun to talk about.

Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 13.3″ is supplied with IPS LCD display with Full HD resolution. Pixel density is 166 ppi, aspect ratio — 16 : 9. Mi Notebook 12.5″ display has IPS LCD matrix and a Full HD picture quality. Pixel density is 176 ppi with the same aspect ratio.

A rocking combo for both laptops is a wide viewing angle and natural color reproduction. First of all, you will not struggle with color distortion or color loss if you want to screen a movie to a big company of friends. Seconds of all, it will be a great assistant for those who work with photography. Several levels of brightness provide an immersive experience.

The power inside

Rumor has it, that Xiaomi entered negotiations with Leadcore with a view to producing its own processors. Perhaps, the company succeeds in taking production under its wing and develops a powerful and energy-efficient processor. For now Mi brand is using third-party chips. It’s Mi Notebook Air keeps company with processors from Intel.

Mi Notebook 13.3″ model is driven by Intel Core i5-6200U with a maximum tactical frequency of 2.7 GHz. Multithreading technology allows dealing with the most demanding tasks. Computer possesses 8 GB working memory of DDR4 standard. High-speed SSD supports 256 GB memory! It will carry the weight of a huge collection of our photographs, videos, games and other. NVidia GeForce 940MX GDDR 5 lets you run advanced games on high settings.

Mi Notebook 12.5″ has a lighter “stuffing”, compared to its elder “brother”. However, it is not inferior in performance. For a stable performance, the Intel Core m3 (6Y30) processor with 2.2 GHz frequency is used. An integrated Intel HD Graphics 515 graphics accelerator is powerful enough to deal with up-to-date games if played on medium settings of display and graphics. 128 GB internal memory is expandable with a help of SATA-slot for additional SDD, RAM is 4 GB DDR3.

Ins and outs

A true Chinese generosity can be fully acknowledged here! However, this is not the case when multiple slots for all occasions, most of which are destined to never be used, are jam-packed.

The two models have practically the same positioning of major ports and other slots. The right side hosts USB Type-C and USB 3.0 ports. Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 13.3″ was given two USB 3.0 ports. The left side has HDMI, AUX slots and also 3.5 mm plug for headset or microphone. On the front part, there’s an indentation for easy opening.

On the back, there are AKG loudspeakers, delivering clean and powerful sound. Realtek has supplied laptops with its most qualitative sound cards. Both options are equipped with the latest version of WiFi 802.11ac module (max. 867 Mbps) and Bluetooth 4.1.

Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 12.5″ features a passive cooling system. Such technology provides quiet work of the machine. Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 13.3″ is enhanced with ventilators to control the temperature of “horsepower” processor. Even if it is operating at full capacity, the fans will not produce a “howling” noise, but “purr” for your pleasure.

Battery runs the show

Mi Notebook 13.3″ has a lithium-ion battery for 8000 mAh. If used to the fullest the device can work 9.5 hours without a recharge. A “smaller” modification runs with a 7400 mAh battery and can work for about 11.5 hours on a single charge.

An important addition to the set was a Quick Charge 3.0 technology. It allows restoring energy level to 50 % in half an hour, reaching 100 % bar in an hour more. It is convenient for those who value their time. Recharge the laptop while you are taking a coffee break and continue using it outside.

Dimensions

Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 12.5″ inch resembles a thick magazine: it weighs 1.07 kg, having 292×202×12.9 mm. Mi Notebook Air 13.3″ inch has 1.28 kg of weight and does not take a lot of space with dimensions 309.6×210.9×14.8 mm. In comparison with competitive devices, both options are very compact, easy to carry or fit into a bag.

Bottom line

Xiaomi gave the matter a lot of thought before announcing product users did not associate the company with. Well, the company nailed it! Both ultrabooks take on complicated tasks without a hitch. Each modification has its prominent peculiarities. 12.5″ inch version, due to its lightweight body, will gladly accompany its owner around town. Mi Notebook Air 13.3″ with multiple ports at hand will anchor every other device you have and provide a fast information exchange.

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Comparison of characteristics