Xiaomi has recently entered the laptop market in India with its two new laptops in India. The brand introduced the Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14 and Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition in the country.
The Xiaomi Mi NoteBook 14 (1901-FC) is priced at Rs 41,999, while 1901-FA is priced at Rs 44,999 and 1901-DG model is priced at Rs 47,999. The Mi NoteBook Horizon Edition is priced at Rs 54,999 (1904-AR) and Rs 59,999 (1904-AF) respectively. With this, the company is planning to disrupt the laptop segment in India. However, does it make any sense to buy a Mi Notebook considering the price range?
We have seen a lot of players launching laptops in this price range. If you are looking to buy a laptop for Rs 45,000, there are a plethora of options available in the market. So, does it make any sense to buy the latest Mi Notebook laptop? We list 5 reasons why you should avoid choosing Mi Notebook as your next laptop.
Faulty Hardcore Performance
The Xiaomi Mi Notebook is powered by the latest 10th Intel Core i5 Comet Lake processor. You get Intel Iris HD graphics with the base variant, while the maximum GPU hardware you can get is NVIDIA GeForce MX250 GPU.
The GPU and hardware configuration coupled with 8GB of RAM is not meant for high-end use like editing videos or doing heavy multitasking or using software like Adobe Premiere Pro. The laptop can handle some modest games, but you cannot simply play high-graphics games on this laptop. For Rs 48,000, you are not getting the hardcore performance device. In this same price range, you can get Acer Nitro 5 laptop that delivers better gaming experience and it can also handle some hardcore apps.
Low Storage
The Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14 comes with an option of 256GB and 512GB of SSD storage. Although SSD storage is proven to be faster as compared to HDD storage, the company is offering way too low storage with its latest laptop range. In comparison, almost all the competition is offering a combination of HDD and SSD with their laptops, meaning that you can get more storage in other laptops as compared to Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14. For example, the latest Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i offers you the latest 10th gen Intel Core i5 processor along with 1TB of storage for just Rs 43,990, while the Mi Notebook 14 is priced at Rs 44,999 for the 256GB storage option.
No Webcam
The Xiaomi Mi Notebook 14 and Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition does not come with an in-built webcam. Yes, you heard that right! At a time when everyone is using laptops as a medium to conduct virtual meetings, Xiaomi has decided to not use webcams on its latest laptops. The company is offering a Mi Webcam free with the laptops, but it is just another accessory and users first need to plug it, set it and then use it, while with other laptops, you don’t have to do anything like this.
No Backlit Keyboard
The top-end variant of the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition does not come with a backlit keyboard. In this price range, almost all the brands are giving you backlit keyboards, but Xiaomi has decided not to provide it for some reasons. The backlit keyboard is especially helpful when you use the laptop in low-lit situations.
No Security Option
When it comes to security, the Mi Notebook 14 and Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition does not come with a fingerprint sensor. Although, one can ignore it for the base variant, not including it in the top-end variant that costs Rs 60,000 does raise some eyebrows. It would have been a good thing if the company could have added a fingerprint scanner on the top-end variant. Interestingly, other players like Lenovo are also giving you a kill switch to turn off your webcam or WiFi, but this is not the case with Mi NoteBook or Mi Notebook Horizon Edition.
With these pointers we conclude that Xiaomi Notebook is not worth the buy.