Xiaomi Mi Air (13.3, i5-6200U, GeForce 940MX) Notebook Review

Xiaomi delivers its first product into the notebook field with the Mi Notebook Air. The Chinese manufacturer does not do things in a small way and wants to play in a league with established competitors. You can read in our detailed test review whether the upstart can perform such a feat or not.

The Mi Notebook Air represents a successful debut for Xiaomi. Most decisive is that the manufacturer avoids big mistakes with the device. On the pro side, there is a very good display, a unibody case with excellent processing, a good cooling system (with one small restriction), good input devices and a laptop that offers power reserves immediately when needed - and it includes a dedicated Nvidia graphics card, almost a unique selling point in this market segment.

The negative points lie in the details: The device is missing an SD-card reader, unfortunately the display is glossy, and the case gets quite warm in load operation. The greatest disappointment is the battery: The Mi Notebook Air delivers at most average runtimes. Other manufacturers do much better regarding this point, for example, Dell with the XPS 13. Apart from that, prospective buyers should probably have a look at the upcoming Kaby Lake Ultrabooks, like HP's Spectre x360 and Lenovo's Yoga 910. Those are actually convertibles though, which might not appeal to everyone. Also, they are bigger and heavier than the XPS and the Mi Notebook Air.

Xiaomi's debut delivers good performance; the manufacturer did not make any big mistakes. Only the fact that it has to be imported could stand in the way of greater success.

Probably the best possible argument for the Mi Notebook Air is the price. All of the just-mentioned competitors are much more expensive. The Lenovo IdeaPad 710S in a similar price range could also be an interesting option.

Does the Mi Notebook Air get a recommendation? Yes, although it needs to be pointed out that it is not officially available in Germany. This leads to further difficulties like the American keyboard, the non-existent CE-label or the difficult warranty processing. Further information can be found in our article about "CE-labeling and Import". If Xiaomi officially put the Mi Notebook Air into the German market it would certainly be a successful device.