From amazing phones like the Mi Mix 3 to their latest AirDots wireless headphones —a $29 version of Apple’s AirPods — the Xiaomi keeps releasing cool, high-quality gadgets that we want to buy but are not available in the United States.
The tease never ceases, but that may change soon.
Just a week ago we were drooling after the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3, the world’s first 5G phone with a sliding display mechanism that allows for its AMOLED panel to take all over the front of the phone, without notches of any kind.
That phone has amazing specs, with up to 10GB of RAM (another world’s first) and a DxOMark score that rivals the previous smartphone photography king, the Huawei P20 Pro. And yet, it costs only $472 in China for the 6GB/128GB version and $720 for the 10GB/256GB version.
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It's the same deal with the wireless AirDots earphones released yesterday, Xiaomi’s version of Apple’s AirPods. The 4.2-gram Bluetooth 5.0-equipped buds have noise cancellation built-in and capacitive touch to allow users to control track skipping and volume. They come with their own carrying charging box, just like Apple’s, and can play music for a continuous four hours.
The price: $29. Absolutely ridiculous when compared to the $159 of Apple’s version.
But it doesn’t stop there. The company has a laser projector that is just $2,000 when comparable devices go well into the $6,000 mark. It has everything.
From ultralight PC laptops, large 4K TVs, and sports bands to home automation systems, water purifying devices, and even rice cookers. And everything is highly rated, not cheap stuff, with a cool design all around.
In fact, while people say that Xiaomi is an Apple copycat (the company’s CEO is an obvious admirer of the Cupertino brand), the truth is that it has already passed that phase. Now, the $46-billion Chinese company feels more like the son of Apple and Philips, one that seems committed to make great technology available for everyone — in fact, their advertising slogan is “Innovationg for Everyone”.
But, for now, that “everyone” is not the United States. The company is slowly expanding through the world, especially in Europe and India, but there’s no word about when all these wondergadgets will arrive to the US. Perhaps that will change on December 8, when Xiaomi will hold a mystery event in New York city.
We can only hope so, because it sucks to be left out of this party.
