Xiaomi's new Mi Notebook sports Kaby Lake-R CPU and Nvidia's MX110 GPU

Xiaomi may have just released a new smartphone that is setting the tech world on fire, but the Chinese giant isn’t content to sit on its laurels. Announced earlier today, the Xiaomi Mi Notebook is a mid-range laptop using an 8th gen Intel Kaby Lake-R CPU and Nvidia’s GeForce MX110 GPU that is set to launch later this August. However, the price is a bit high considering the internals.

Here are the specs:

• CPU: Intel Core i5-8250U or Core i7-8550U
• RAM: 4 or 8 GB DDR4 2400 MHz RAM (upgradeable)
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce MX110 (2 GB GDDR5)
• Storage: 128 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD
• Wireless: 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi, BT 4.1
• Display: 15.6-inch 1920x1080 IPS
• Ports: 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0, HDMI, Ethernet, headset audio, SD Card Reader
• Battery: 60 Wh 4-cell Li-Ion polymer battery
• Dimension: 382 mm x 253.5 mm x 20 mm
• Weight: 2.18 kg

The laptop uses a dual-fan cooling system, so the internals shouldn’t get too toasty, but noise might be problematic depending on how aggressively Xiaomi tunes the fans.

Xiaomi is pricing the device at RMB ¥4000, or about USD $588 (at the time of this writing). However, the only place we could find taking preorders for western buyers is GeekBuying, which is charging $730 for a model with the Core i5-8250U, 4 GB of RAM, and a 128 GB SSD/1 TB HDD storage combo. Doubling the RAM will cost an additional $50. It should be noted that the Mi Notebook ships with a Chinese copy of Windows 10.

While Xiaomi is known for their competitive pricing, that’s not necessarily the case here. For the same price as the Mi Notebook, you could get an Acer Swift 3 with the same CPU, an MX150 GPU, and a 256 GB SSD. Or for about $200 cheaper, you could get an Acer Aspire E15 with the same CPU, an MX150 GPU, and a 256 GB SSD. Or for $20 more than the Mi Notebook, you could get an MSI GV62 with a six-core Core i5-8300H, a GTX 1050 Ti, and a 1 TB HDD. Or you could… well, you get the idea. The Xiaomi Mi Notebook is no doubt a decent value, but there are better options out there. Of course, if you can manage to import the Mi Notebook for a price closer to its MSRP, then it could be an excellent value.

The Xiaomi Mi Notebook will be available in China starting August 28th. The laptop will be available in dark gray or white.

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