With numerous laptop manufacturers boarding the AMD Ryzen 4000-series (codename Renoir) train, Xiaomi is keen to find a seat for itself as well. As reported by Gadgets 360, the Chinese tech giant just announced the RedmiBook 13, RedmiBook 14 and RedmiBook 16 that are powered by AMD's latest 7nm APUs.
Independent of the size, the three laptops' screens share similar specifications. They feature a 1080p resolution, 60 Hz refresh rate and 100% Adobe RGB color coverage. The 13-inch and 14-inch models have a maximum brightness level of just 250 nits though, while the value jumps to 300 nits on the larger 16.1-inch model.
The new RedmiBooks are sporting a modern design with very thin bezels that measure 3.26mm. As a result, the laptops lack a webcam. The screen-to-body ratio on the RedmiBook 16 is 90%, and it's 89% on the RedmiBook 13 and RedmiBook 14.
The laptops are pretty lightweight, so carrying them around won't be a problem. The RedmiBook 13 and RedmiBook 14 weigh around 2.6 pounds (1.2kg), and the RedmiBook 16 checks in at 4 pounds (1.8kg). Besides the larger screen, the higher weight is due to the battery size. The RedmiBook 16 has a 46 Wh battery, and the remaining models employ a 40 Wh. In any case, Xiaomi is promising a battery life of up to 12 hours, which is mainly possible thanks to AMD's mobile Ryzen 4000 U-series APUs that run within the 15W limit.
Xiaomi provides a compact 65W charger for the RedmiBook laptops. The company claims that the RedmiBook 16 can charge from 0-50% in 38 minutes.
Xiaomi RedmiBook Specifications
Header Cell - Column 0 | RedmiBook 13 | RedmiBook 13 | RedmiBook 13 | RedmiBook 14 | RedmiBook 14 | RedmiBook 14 | RedmiBook 16 | RedmiBook 16 | RedmiBook 16 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 4500U | AMD Ryzen 5 4500U | AMD Ryzen 7 4700U | AMD Ryzen 5 4500U | AMD Ryzen 5 4500U | AMD Ryzen 7 4700U | AMD Ryzen 5 4500U | AMD Ryzen 5 4500U | AMD Ryzen 7 4700U |
RAM | 8GB DDR4-2666 | 16GB DDR4-2666 | 16GB DDR4-2666 | 8GB DDR4-2666 | 16GB DDR4-2666 | 16GB DDR4-2666 | 8GB DDR4-2666 | 16GB DDR4-2666 | 16GB DDR4-2666 |
SSD | 512GB (SATA) | 512GB (SATA) | 1TB (SATA) | 512GB (SATA) | 512GB (SATA) | 512GB (SATA) | 512GB (SATA) | 512GB (SATA) | 512GB (SATA) |
Display | 13 inches (1920 x 1080) | 13 inches (1920 x 1080) | 13 inches (1920 x 1080) | 14 inches (1920 x 1080) | 14 inches (1920 x 1080) | 14 inches (1920 x 1080) | 16.1 inches (1920 x 1080) | 16.1 inches (1920 x 1080) | 16.1 inches (1920 x 1080) |
Dimensions | 307.3 x 195 x 17.8mm | 307.3 x 195 x 17.8mm | 307.3 x 195 x 17.8mm | 320 x 203 x 16.85mm | 320 x 203 x 16.85mm | 320 x 203 x 16.85mm | 367.20 x 232.85 x 17.55mm | 367.20 x 232.85 x 17.55mm | 367.20 x 232.85 x 17.55mm |
Weight | 1.23kg | 1.23kg | 1.23kg | 1.2kg | 1.2kg | 1.2kg | 1.8kg | 1.8kg | 1.8kg |
Battery | 40Wh | 40Wh | 40Wh | 40Wh | 40Wh | 40Wh | 46Wh | 46Wh | 46Wh |
Pricing | $532 | $560 | $700 | $532 | $560 | $630 | $532 | $560 | $630 |
Xiaomi picked two 7nm Zen 2 APUs for its RedmiBook laptops. The Ryzen 5 4500U is equipped with six CPU cores and six threads that run with a 2.3 GHz base clock and 4 GHz boost clock. The Ryzen 7 4700U, on the other hand, will cater to consumers needing more firepower. The Ryzen 7 4700U comes with eight cores and eight threads with a base and boost clock speeds up to 2 GHz and 4.1 GHz, respectively. As far as integrated graphics go, the Ryzen 5 4500U packs six Vega Compute Units (CUs) at 1,500 MHz, while the Ryzen 7 4700U has seven Vega CUs running at 1,600 MHz.
Basically, all the RedmiBook laptops arrive with a 512GB SATA SSD for base storage. Oddly, only the RedmiBook 13 is available with a 1TB SSD option. For RAM, you can choose between 8GB or 16GB of DDR4-2666 memory. Xiaomi told us that the memory is soldered to the motherboard so it's not user-replaceable. However, you can replace the SSD as you wish.
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Regardless of the model, the trio of RedmiBook devices have identical connectivity options. You can enjoy dual-band Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0. There are two USB Type-C ports, one USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port, one USB 2.0 port, one HDMI 1.4 port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. A fingerprint scanner and a pair of 2W speakers are also present. The RedmiBooks will arrive with Windows 10 Home Chinese Edition.
The base models (Ryzen 5 4500U, 8GB, 512GB SSD) for the RedmiBook 13, RedmiBook 14 and RedmiBook 16 start at $532. The 16GB variants are equally priced at $560. With identical pricing, you can feel free to choose the size that works best for you.
The Ryzen 7 4700U versions of the RedmiBook 14 and RedmiBook 16 cost $630. The RedmiBook 13 variant retails for $700, likely because of the 1TB SSD.
Shoppers who preorder the new RedmiBooks between today and May 31 will receive discounts from $28-$84, depending on the model. The laptops go on sale in China on June 1. Xiaomi has confirmed to us that the company has no plans to launch the new RedmiBook series outside of Mainland China.
Zhiye Liu is a news editor and memory reviewer at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.
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Alvar "Miles" Udell Why can't the USA get laptops like this? I was publicly lamenting the fact that there are no good sub $1000 laptops, even on sale, you have to compromise in some way, be it abysmal battery life, abysmal graphics, abysmal screen, or any combination of these. These notebooks with 100% AdobeRGB screens and fairly epic specs for under $700 is just...Heck even at $800 it's still epic, assuming the 12 hour battery life is true...Reply -
abtocool The RAM is not described properly enough. Whenever some company is silent about the DDR version of RAM, I'm forced to assume that they are using inferior RAM.Reply
Can someone check whether this is DDR3 or DDR4 ? What frequency does it run on? -
Kashi514
DDR4 2666abtocool said:Can someone check whether this is DDR3 or DDR4 ? What frequency does it run on? -
Kashi514 They've really cut a lot of corners to get it to this price. Check the official page (Chinese only) https://www.mi.com/buy/detail?product_id=10000226Reply
SATA SSD instead of NVME
Wi-fi 5 instead of 6
HDMI 1.4 instead of 2.0
No webcam
And the 14" version has a garbage screen. 16" version has a good screen.
This is a hard pass for me on this release, I'd rather pay a couple hundred more and get this year's Lenovo 15" with AMD Renoir. -
Rdslw Kashi514 said:They've really cut a lot of corners to get it to this price. Check the official page (Chinese only) https://www.mi.com/buy/detail?product_id=10000226
SATA SSD instead of NVME
Wi-fi 5 instead of 6
HDMI 1.4 instead of 2.0
No webcam
And the 14" version has a garbage screen. 16" version has a good screen.
This is a hard pass for me on this release, I'd rather pay a couple hundred more and get this year's Lenovo 15" with AMD Renoir.
xiaomi is like that. Price is usually incredible but details are lacking a lot.
They make things that are awesome for some, unusable for others.
I just hope it's upgradable. SSD & ram problem can be changed later to make it speedy little daily driver.
Being realistic, this thing won't need 4k & 60 FPS. HDMI 2.0 would be a waste for a lot of people, and that's what they absolutely nail. 70% of people will need all there is inside, nothing more. And they get literally nothing more. -
Alvar "Miles" Udell Kashi514 said:They've really cut a lot of corners to get it to this price. Check the official page (Chinese only) https://www.mi.com/buy/detail?product_id=10000226
SATA SSD instead of NVME
Wi-fi 5 instead of 6
HDMI 1.4 instead of 2.0
No webcam
And the 14" version has a garbage screen. 16" version has a good screen.
This is a hard pass for me on this release, I'd rather pay a couple hundred more and get this year's Lenovo 15" with AMD Renoir.
I...actually just bought it. No touchscreen, only 8GB of single channel memory, no professional reviews, and newly released...At least there's a 14 day return period. -
gggplaya Alvar Miles Udell said:Why can't the USA get laptops like this? I was publicly lamenting the fact that there are no good sub $1000 laptops, even on sale, you have to compromise in some way, be it abysmal battery life, abysmal graphics, abysmal screen, or any combination of these. These notebooks with 100% AdobeRGB screens and fairly epic specs for under $700 is just...Heck even at $800 it's still epic, assuming the 12 hour battery life is true...
Acer Swift 3: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/acer-swift-3-amd-ryzen
Not the best screen, but hits all the other checkboxes. -
Alvar "Miles" Udell gggplaya said:Acer Swift 3: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/acer-swift-3-amd-ryzen
Not the best screen, but hits all the other checkboxes.
Aye, I read that since it was the closest thing to the Lenovo before I bought it. The Lenovo is $900, but supposedly features an all metal chassis as well, plus a better screen and a 50% larger battery in addition to the 100% sRGB screen, but it'd still be nice to know if it were as good as it seems on paper. -
dmitche31958 More Chinese crap that sounds sooo good but when you actually use it for more than a week will start to show its true value. If you want to support the communists than bend over and do it.Reply -
PapaCrazy No webcam? In these times? Dumb way to cut corners. They undercut the Zephyrus G14 (also an AMD laptop) with the same decision. When are we going to see AMD laptops without dumb compromises?Reply