Xiaomi has launched its first gaming laptop, the Mi Gaming. At the highest end, the 15.6” notebook can be equipped with an i7-7700HQ and a GTX 1060. As with other Xiaomi products, though, the Mi Gaming’s real selling point will undoubtedly be its premium-looking design.
Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone titan, isn’t a company we mention too often at Tom’s Hardware. Not long ago, the company followed Huawei--China’s other smartphone titan and Xiaomi’s main competitor--and branched into the computer market by releasing its first consumer notebooks. Pundits may call them copies of Apple’s MacBooks, but we have to admit that the products from these newcomers are sleek. Not even Apple has replicated this cool (albeit impractical) pop-up webcam.
Xiaomi is following on the success of its consumer-focused Mi Notebook Air with a “thin-and-light gaming laptop.” Traditionally, that term has been a bit of an oxymoron, but gaming laptops aren’t all just portable gaming battlestations anymore. Companies have realized that there’s a middle ground between “consumer” and “uncompromising hardware enthusiast,” which is where most of the gamer market is. This is the place of thin-and-light (and expensive) gaming notebooks.
Getting back to the main topic, Xiaomi’s new Mi Gaming Laptop will be svelte, but it’s not gunning against the state of the art products from Asus, Gigabyte, and Acer. Instead, Xiaomi’s notebook will be competing against more mid-range notebooks in and around the $1,000 price point.
Spec-wise, the Mi Gaming matches its competition with its available i7-7700HQ CPU, GTX 1060 GPU, 16GB of memory, 256GB PCI-e SSD, and 1080p 15.6” IPS screen. There’s no shortage of ports, either. The Mi Gaming has a USB-C port, four USB 3.0 ports, and ethernet jack, seperate audio jacks, a HDMI 2.0 port, and an SD card reader.
Design-wise, we think Xiaomi’s notebook is stunning. Instead of the more common clamshell design, the screen opens on gooseneck hinges like HP’s Spectre. The keyboard has four-zone RGB lighting, and light accents on the notebook’s sides provide ambient glow. Finally, a robust-looking, dual-fan cooling system, which is worryingly shooting flames in the promotional video, seems like it should be adequate for the not-too-demanding hardware.
Xiaomi hasn’t announced if or when the Mi Gaming will reach North America.
