The pandemic has taught Indians the importance of keeping a high-end laptop with next-gen features at home as remote work becomes a necessity in the social distancing times. The problem is: How to buy a notebook that is packed with powerful and meaningful features yet does not make a hole in your savings.
Keeping this in mind, Xiaomi recently brought Mi Notebook 14 and Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition to India that is set to disrupt the laptop segment owing to aggressive pricing and solid internals.
The Mi Notebook 14 comes for Rs 54,999 for the i5 model which has 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD, 10th Gen Intel i5 processor, NVIDIA GeForce MX250 2GB graphics and Windows 10 Home.
This device is at least Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000 cheaper than the other popular models in the market with the same set of specifications in the fragmented laptop market in the country.
Let us see what the first notebook from the house of Xiaomi in India has to offer.
In terms of hardware, the Mi Notebook 14 offers Intel Core i5 10210U chip, coupled with 8GB of DDR4 RAM, up to 512GB of SATA SSD storage, and an Nvidia GeForce MX250 GPU for gaming experience on the top-end variant.
The Mi Notebook 14 runs Windows 10 Home Edition and features a 14-inch full-HD (1,920×1,080 pixels) anti-glare IPS display with a screen-to-body ratio of 91 percent, 60Hz refresh rate, and 178-degree viewing angles.
Weighing just 1.5kg, the sleek unibody metal chassis and anodized sandblasted coating makes the device sturdy.
The light device sports a 35.56cm FHD anti-glare display. Adding to that, the narrow bezels play a prominent role in providing an immersive viewing experience.
Equipped with the latest Intel Core i5 Comet Lake processor, the Mi Notebook 14 is best for multitasking, creating content, working on spreadsheets, streaming webinars or movies in free time.
With the power-efficient NVIDIA GeForce MX250 graphics, the professionals can leverage HD photo and video editing.
The powerful graphics engine and next-gen technologies allow for faster and smoother gaming.
The Mi Notebook 14 offers great clock speeds at 2666MHz — say goodbye to slow and insufficient memory.
The device comes with a wider air intake area and a large diameter fan which claims to bring excellent cooling to the machine. The maximum sound of the fan is a mere 37dB even when the system is being used for heavier tasks.
The battery life is good. Packed with a 46Wh battery and a 65W charger, one can expect a power backup of nearly seven hours. You can also go from zero to 50 percent charge in around 35 minutes.
The keypad is modern. Based on the scissor mechanism, the keys have ABS texture and a travel distance of 1.3mm which makes typing a lot more comfortable and low-profile on this device. The in-built dust protection layer is also a good addition.
The multi-touch trackpad allows for easy swipe, scroll, selection, zoom-in or zoom-out. It comes with palm-rejection, built-in to cancel unintended touches if any.
The device offers stereo speakers combined with the DTS audio processing app that will help you fine-tune the desired sound signatures while streaming content.
In terms of connectivity, the notebook comes with 2 USB 3.1 ports, 1 USB 2.0 port, and 1 HDMI 1.4b interface. It also has a 3.5mm jack which doubles as a headphone and a mic in.
A nice addition when learning or working from home is a Mi Webcam HD 720p which can be attached to the device pretty easily.
Conclusion: You will miss the Mi logo at the back of the laptop which is a usual practice for branding, but the clean look also has its charm as it creates interest among those who look at it for the first time.
The price is attractive and will force market leaders to spruce up their offerings.
For the Indian consumers, the Mi Notebook 14 (i5) offers a promise to unlock their true potential with top-of-the-line features, be it at home or work, while spending less.
