Xiaomi has registered the RedmiBook trademark in India. The RedmiBook could come in as affordable ultrabook compared to the existing ones from Dell, Lenovo and HP.
It came in with its smartphones, ventured into audio accessories, moved over to smart TVs and lately into smart home accessories. Xiaomi is present in so many product categories but one area where it has stayed away from is the laptop market. However, come 2020 and Xiaomi may bring its laptops to the Indian market. Leaks on the web have suggested that Xiaomi is working to bring its affordable RedmiBook series of laptops to India soon.
The company has already registered the RedmiBook name in India and that suggests an official launch could happen within a few months. Xiaomi makes a few laptops models in China and it differentiates them in two series- Mi NoteBook and RedmiBook laptops. The RedmiBook, as has been the convention for Xiaomi, is the more affordable series of the two and it currently contains two recently launched models with the latest specifications.
Xiaomi has been hinting of bringing its laptops the market in the past and its India Head Manu Kumar Jain even hinted that a Xiaomi gaming laptop could make its way into India. However, with the RedmiBook name registered, it seems that Xiaomi will start with the low-end lightweight ultrabook segment first. It is unclear as to whether the 13-inch model or the 14-inch model will make it to India but both of them offer a premium build and decent specifications.
The most recent model is the RedmiBook 13 that was launched along with the Redmi K30. The RedmiBook 13 offers a small 13.3-inch FHD+ display with narrow bezels all around. For processors, Xiaomi offers the option to choose between the latest 10th Gen Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors. There’s 8GB RAM as standard onboard while a 512GB SSD storage is present on all the models. It even offers an Nvidia MX250 graphics card. Being a Xiaomi device, it gets several integration apps and services with Xiaomi devices.
In India, it will be interesting to see how Xiaomi prices these RedmiBook models. Existing players such as Dell, HP, Lenovo and Acer sell lightweight ultrabooks with the latest generation chips at an average starting price of Rs 50,000. Hence, Xiaomi will either try to undercut these by launching the RedmiBook at a lower price, or it could compete directly with them with a more premium build quality.