Xiaomi, the Chinese Internet business that also manufactures and sells smartphones, phablets and tablets, is set to make an announcement on the 27th of July. There has been speculation within the industry that this announcement will include Xiaomi’s long-rumoured Notebook computer, a new Chromebook or Macbook Air sized computer. We have now seen a report on the BenchLife website, which has sadly now been removed, that appears to show screen images of the rumored Xiaomi Notebook and this makes for interesting reading. Other reports indicate that Xiaomi is set to release a new variant of the Redmi Note 4 but featuring dual cameras.
Unfortunately, much of the writing is in Chinese but from what we can tell, the Notebook will be powered by the new generation Intel Core processors using the Skylake architecture and constructed on a 14nm process. These sixth generation chips are more energy efficient than previous Intel designs, produce less heat and occupy less space, which means computer designers have more space for other components. Some reports of the Xiaomi Notebook stated that the computer would use Intel Atom chipsets, but we cannot rule out the possibility that Xiaomi will release a range of Notebook models and some will use the Atom chip whereas others will use the Core chip. One of the images BenchLife captured shows that the product will be based around the Intel Core i7 6500U processor, which is a dual core, 64-bit chip with a maximum official clock speed of 3.1 GHz.
Not much else is known about the machine: we have seen rumors that the device will be available with 11-inch and 13-inch screen options, but the resolution and type of screen available is unknown. We don’t know how much RAM and internal storage the machine will have, how many and of what type of ports it will feature, what markets it will be available in and how much it will cost. It has been reported that the design will be similar to the Macbook Air, although it would seem to be difficult to design something in the sub-notebook category that is different to the Apple product. One of the images below shows what is claimed to be the new Xiaomi Notebook charger, which has a maximum output of 65 watts through a USB Type C connection. As for the operating system, it would appear that the device will run Windows 10 but again we have no confirmation of this.
