Last year Xiaomi entered the laptop market by launching the Mi Notebook Air. It looked a lot like the Apple MacBook Air.
Following the trend, Xiaomi has released the Mi Notebook Pro which is an obvious nod towards the MacBook Pro. CEO Xioami, Lei Jun, also admitted this saying that the MacBook Pro’s design was the inspiration behind the Mi Notebook Pro.
It starts at 5,599 yuan (Rs. 90,566) for the Core i5 model with 8 GB RAM, 6,399 Yuan (Rs. 103,506) for the Core i7 version with 8 GB RAM and 7000 yuan (Rs. 113,228) for the top end 16 GB RAM model.
Starting with the display, the Notebook Pro has a 15.6″ screen with Full HD resolution. It has minimal 6.25 mm side bezels which should bring it on par with the likes of MacBook Pro and Dell XPS 13. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3.
Mi Notebook Pro supports Windows Hello with an integrated fingerprint sensor in the touchpad. The backlit keyboard has been designed with custom concave keycaps allowing fingers to fit in naturally. Xiaomi was quick to point out that the actuation of these keys is 1.5 mm, more than twice as much as MacBook’s 0.6 mm key travel.
Overheating is often a problem with gaming notebooks and companies go the extra mile to make sure it doesn’t become a problem with their high end business grade laptops.
Xiaomi has included 2 fans with optimized airflow with expanded heat pipes and a bigger heatsink, this results in 40% extra outflow of air for better cooling
Delicate, flimsy products break easily which is why Xiaomi focused on making the Mi Notebook Pro as sturdy as possible. It is built with a magnesium alloy and should be able to take a beating.
Another important highlight is the usage of Intel’s latest and greatest 8th Generation Core i7 8550u processor. This makes it one of the first few laptops in the world to use this processor, as it uses the very first batch of the 8th gen i7 processors.
There is also the option of an Intel Core i5 processor as well. This is coupled with 8/16 GB RAM and 256 GB PCIe SSD storage. The notebook includes multiple SSD slot for expansion.
Mi Notebook Air includes a 60 Wh battery which can charge up to 50% in just 35 minutes thanks to fast charging support.
For the ports the Mi Notebook Pro doesn’t compromise much. Here’s a comparison with MacBook Pro:
There is a 3-in-1 card reader (SD/SDHC/SDXC) as well as 2 USB type C slots, 2 USB 3.0 slots a full sized HDMI and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
Availability in Pakistan is unconfirmed. As even the older Mi Notebook Air is not officially available yet, it is safe to assume that Mi Notebook Pro won’t be coming to Pakistan any time soon either.
