OnePlus Band By OnePlus

Rs. 2499 purchasing options

Positives Comfortable strap, minimal design Quality sleep tracking Very reliable Bluetooth connectivity Negatives Terrible battery life Connected GPS is unreliable Barebones app

Bottom Line The OnePlus Band is the company’s first foray into the fitness wearables space. OnePlus is playing it pretty safe with a predictable set of features, and yet the end results is too unpolished to be taken seriously. Between the terrible battery life, iffy fitness tracking, barebones app, it is hard to take the OnePlus Band seriously as an alternative to more mature products on the market.

Read the full review

Reviews – Android Authority

Mi 10i By Xiaomi

Rs. 20,999 purchasing options

Positives Uniquely colored gradient and eye-catching design Excellent 108MP camera that punches above its weight Quality 120Hz display with adaptive refresh rate support Stereo speakers and headphone jack Fantastic battery life 33W charging IP53 rating Negatives Bloatware Low-light imaging could be a bit better 2MP macro sensor is borderline pointless

Bottom Line Xiaomi kicks off 2021 with guns blazing. The Mi 10i isn’t just competing for the premium mid-range segment, but it delivers a one-two punch to the OnePlus Nord with its loaded spec-sheet and a user experience that, for the most part, delivers exactly what it promises. It certainly helps that the phone is one of the most affordable offerings in the segment.

Read the full review

Reviews – Android Authority

Mi Watch Lite By Xiaomi

€50 purchasing options

Positives Very affordable Plenty of fitness data and sport profiles Workout analysis from Firstbeat 9-day battery life Good heart rate monitoring Negatives Limited smartwatch features Xiaomi Wear app needs a lot of work

Bottom Line The Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite is a good fitness tracker, but a very basic smartwatch. If you’re after the Mi Band experience and would like the benefits of a larger display, Xiaomi’s latest budget smartwatch is a fine option. Just don’t expect much more than that.

Read the full review

Reviews – Android Authority

Since the start of August, Xiaomi has announced three devices in India: the Redmi 9, Redmi 9 Prime, and Redmi 9C. But according to leaker Ishan Agarwal, the Chinese OEM could have one more device up its sleeve. Agarwal told Pricebaba Xiaomi is getting ready to announce another budget-friendly phone for India called the Redmi 9i.

Pricebaba suggests the 9i is likely a rebranded variant of the Redmi 9A with more RAM and additional internal storage. Xiaomi released the 9A in Malaysia in June. It features a 6.53-inch display with a 20:9 aspect ratio and 1,600 x 720 resolution. Internally, the phone features MediaTek’s recently announced Helio G25 chipset, a 5,000mAh battery, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage. The phone comes with a single 13MP primary camera with an LED flash and a 5MP camera for snapping selfies. On the software front, it comes with Xiaomi’s MIUI Android skin.

Related: The best phones under 10,000 rupees

At the very least, how the 9i would differ from the 9A is that it reportedly includes 4GB of RAM, and will come in 64GB and 128GB storage configurations. Additionally, the website says Xiaomi will sell the phone in three colors: Nature Green, Sea Blue, and Midnight Black.

Based on Agarwal’s track record and the tendency of smartphone companies to flood the Indian market with a variety of devices at different price points, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to suggest Xiaomi is prepping another Redmi 9 variant. If it’s real, we’ll likely learn more about the Redmi 9i soon enough.

Android Authority

Update, July 9, 2020 (10:45 AM ET): Today, Xiaomi issued the above teaser image (h/t Fone Arena) that pretty much confirms the Redmi Note 9 is coming to India. The country already saw the Pro and Pro Max variants of this device, but now there will be a cheaper option.

Unfortunately, Xiaomi doesn’t give any specific details on when the Redmi Note 9 will land in the country, just saying it’s “coming soon.” However, the teaser image above does appear to confirm it will land on Amazon when it does. We’ll update this article once we are certain of the launch date!

Original article: April 20, 2020 (03:41 AM ET): Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 9 Pro and Note 9 Pro Max in India last month, offering capable budget phones for the price. Now, the firm has launched the Note 9 series in Europe.

Unfortunately, the Note 9 Pro Max hasn’t made its way outside India, but European consumers do get the Note 9 Pro and the vanilla Note 9.

Redmi Note 9 series: The info you need

The Redmi Note 9 Pro offers a Snapdragon 720G chipset, 4GB to 6GB of RAM, 64GB to 128GB of expandable storage, and a 5,020mAh battery with 30W charging. You’re also getting a 6.67-inch FHD+ LCD screen, a quad camera setup (48MP+8MP ultra-wide+5MP macro+2MP depth), a 16MP camera in a punch-hole cutout, and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.

Read: The best budget phones you can currently buy

The vanilla Note 9 is an all-new device though, featuring a MediaTek Helio G85 SoC, 3GB to 4GB of RAM, 64GB to 128GB of storage, and a 5,020mAh battery with 18W charging. Other notable details include a 6.53-inch FHD+ LCD screen, a quad rear camera setup (48MP+8MP+2MP+2MP), a 13MP camera in a punch-hole cutout, and a rear fingerprint scanner.

These devices also share a number of features, including NFC (depending on the market), an IR blaster, 3.5mm port, and dual-SIM connectivity.

Editor’s Pick

Xiaomi Mi Band 4 review: Still the best cheap fitness tracker you can buy

Update: May 27, 2020: We have updated our Xiaomi Mi Band 4 review with new pricing details, software information, and more. If you’re reading this Xiaomi Mi Band 4 review, there’s a good chance you’ve either …

The Redmi Note 9 Pro has a recommended price of $ 269 for the 6GB/64GB model and $ 299 for the 6GB/128GB variant. The regular Note 9 has a recommended price of $ 199 for the 3GB/64GB option and $ 249 for the 4GB/128GB model.

In the UK, we have some more specific pricing. The Note 9 starts at £179 (~$ 225) for the 3GB/64GB model and £199 (~$ 250) for the 4GB/128GB option. Meanwhile, the Redmi Note 9 Pro will set you back £249 (~$ 313) for the 6GB/64GB option and £269 (~$ 338) for the 6GB/128GB variant. As stated earlier, the Note 9 Pro Max is still only in India.

We’re glad to see the Redmi Note 9 series see a wider launch, coming over a month after they first launched. You can check out more Xiaomi-related articles via the list below:

• Xiaomi Mi Band 5: Everything we know + What we want to see
• Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro review: Delivering the goods
• These are the best Xiaomi phones you can buy
• Redmi Band launched: A fitness band for under $ 15
• 108MP camera shootout: Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra vs Xiaomi Mi Note 10

Android Authority

Weibo/Bin Lin

Xiaomi made waves almost a year ago when it revealed that it was working on 100W charging technology, capable of charging a 4,000mAh battery in 17 minutes. The company said Redmi phones would get the tech first, but we haven’t heard anything else since then.

Now, Redmi general manager Lu Weibing has taken to Weibo to reveal five technical difficulties associated with 100W charging (and fast charging in general).

Major battery degradation

Perhaps the biggest consideration is battery capacity, with the Redmi executive saying faster charging results in greater capacity loss. And this is a big issue when you’ve got 100W charging.

“According to preliminary estimates, the capacity of a 100W fast charge battery is about 20% less than that of a 30W PD fast charge. In short, 5,000mAh becomes 4,000mAh,” Lu said according to a machine-translated version of his post.

Editor’s Pick

Redmi K30 Pro: What we know so far

Towards the end of 2019, Xiaomi sub-brand Redmi launched the Redmi K30. The 4G version of the device hit stores not long afterward, while the 5G variant entered the pre-order stage in early January. Now, …

In other words, it seems like 100W charging requires a big battery right now in order to off-set the degradation. Otherwise, your 4,000mAh battery will eventually become a 3,200mAh battery due to charging-induced degradation.

This isn’t the only technical difficulty cited by the Redmi executive, as he also points to the technical architecture, charger compatibility, charging protections throughout the device (e.g. for battery, motherboard etc), and general performance as four other hurdles to overcome.

Nevertheless, the Xiaomi executive says 100W charging has “reached the early stage of mature production and can be expected in the future.” So it definitely sounds like we can still expect a 100W smartphone, but it will probably have a massive battery to fight off the effects of degradation.

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Android Authority

If size doesn’t matter, why is the whole industry wondering how big the upcoming Xiaomi Mi Max will be? Large screen lovers are said to be in for a treat, with a rumored display size of 6.4 inches, but Xiaomi is not giving us the exact details quite yet. What they are giving us is a sneak peak at the device, which is displayed poking out of a regular sized pocket.

We have seen both renders and leaked images, and while we can’t say the 6.4-inch screen size is legitimate, we can definitely tell it’s larger than the conventional phablet. MIUI continues to beat around the bush, telling us the “Mi Max is a brand new product line for Xiaomi meaning that the size of 4.7 inches , 5.0 inches, 5.15 inches, 5.5 inches and 7.9 inches are out of choice.”

There is one new piece of news coming from this teaser blog post, though. Now we know the Xiaomi Mi Max won’t have a Mi logo in the front. Not a big deal, but definitely nice to hear for those of us who worry about aesthetics.

Another rumor says it should come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, so be prepared to be blown away. And in usual Xiaomi fashion, expect it to easily undercut the competition in terms of price.

See also: Best cheap Android phones (April 2016)364

As we can see in the image, the phone will be able to fit in a pocket, but we do have to wonder just how comfortable it will be. One-handed operation is probably out of reach… literally. Unless you have huge hands or something. Would you purchase a 6.4-inch phone? I happen to like large screens, as they are easier to type on, so I would definitely consider it if all the other components are right.

Android Authority

Xiaomi is taking the world by storm. Only five years after its inception, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer has managed to take the #1 spot in its home country, as well as the #5 spot in the world (according to the IDC). Their smartphones go out of stock within minutes wherever they are made available, which makes it no surprise that they managed to sell $ 61 million handsets in 2014. And these numbers are not going down, as their growth is estimated at 30% in 2015. Valued at $ 46 billion, Xiaomi has been called the most valuable tech startup in the world.

How did a tiny little Chinese startup manage to blow up like this in only five years, beating plenty of veterans that have been around for generations? Xiaomi is now a leader in the industry, and they were part of our post on Chinese manufacturers to keep an eye on. It’s time to give you the rundown of their past, present and future. Let’s jump into all the details.

In the beginning

Xiaomi’s founding dates back to April 6th, 2010, when the startup was created by eight partners, including ex-Kingsoft CEO Lei Jun. Their initial plan didn’t really include building smartphones (at least that’s what publicly available info tells us). Instead, Xiaomi’s focus was making a ROM that would soon become one of the most popular in the world – MIUI.

Though based on Android, the MIUI ROM was highly associated with Apple’s software. The interface was simple, there was no app drawer and icons were playfully colorful. It also touted interesting features that other ROMs lacked, including its own app store, an enticing music player and even cloud backup. It was a breath of fresh air and people absolutely loved it.

As of February 2015, Xiaomi has over 100 million MIUI users. This is definitely nothing to scoff at, and it’s true testimony of the company’s success.

Then there was hardware

Xiaomi simply wasn’t satisfied with its success in the software world; it came to a point when the company also wanted to make its own hardware. And so the Chinese startup jumped into this industry with both feet in. In 2011, the company launched the Xiaomi Mi 1. This device became the first Xiaomi smartphone to sell in record times. It took only 34 hours for the company to go out of stock (pretty much every Xiaomi product sells out in seconds, nowadays).

This Mi 1 had a Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 processor, 1 GB of RAM, a 4-inch 854 x 480 display, 8MP/2MP cameras and a 1930 mAh battery. To put things into perspective, we named the Samsung Galaxy S2 the best phone of 2011, and the Korean device wasn’t really that much better than the Mi 1. Where Xiaomi beat everyone (and still does) is the price, though. The Xiaomi Mi 1 costed 1999 Yuan, which currently equals to about $ 314 USD. Those prices were unheard of back then!

To take over the world, you must conquer the internet

So how did Xiaomi manage to go from nothing to becoming one of the biggest tech manufacturers in the world, in just a matter of a few years? For starters, the company makes great-looking devices, puts great hardware in them and undercuts the competition in pricing. The value they offer is nearly unbeatable, even by major manufacturers. The real question is – how do they manage to make their products so cheap?

No, this is not only because Xiaomi is a Chinese company. The startup was also among the first to adopt a more modern business strategy that has put it ahead of competitors. First, Xiaomi is focusing on long-term profits, not immediate gratification. They don’t make too much cash from their sales, instead they aim to reach a wider audience, strengthen their brand and build a foundation for future profits.

Another important factor is that Xiaomi keeps very tight control on its stock. They always have a much higher demand than supply, which is why units sell out in a matter of minutes every single time. They are never sitting on unsold products, so there’s no need to worry about losses or overstocked devices.

Lastly, the Chinese phone maker highly depends on social media and word of mouth for its advertising needs. You won’t see their product ads in TV, billboards or magazines, which cost a fortune to promote your brand on. Instead, they harness the power of the internet and transfer those millions in savings to you.

Multiple companies have adopted Xiaomi’s business model since then. One of them happens to be OnePlus, another very popular Chinese startup. Even Chinese tech giants like Huawei, ZTE, and Lenovo have swallowed their pride and launched unabashed Xiaomi clones, in the form of sub-brands like Honor, Axon, and ZUK.

Where Xiaomi now stands

As mentioned above, Xiaomi is currently no small player. They are #1 in China and #5 in the world, which is no small feat for a startup. And today they are doing better than ever. Expectations to increase sales by 30% in 2015 don’t seem unrealistic, considering the company has already moved 34.7 million smartphones during the first half of 2015. They are on their way to becoming a technology powerhouse, and certainly have the necessary weapons at their disposal.

Xiaomi is by no means scared of entering new markets, and so far they have been successful in all their endeavors. Their smartphone business is thriving. Affordable devices like the Redmi Note 2 and Mi 4i happen to offer amazing value. Higher-end handsets like the Mi Note Pro and Mi 4 do the same, while also providing top-of-the-line performance. Xiaomi has also proven to be a main player in the wearable market. The Mi Pad competes only with the best of the best, but costs only about $ 200. The company also makes TVs, power banks, headphones and even air purifiers.

Entering new markets

An announcement hit the interwebs on August 2013, letting us know former Google Android team member Hugo Barra was to join Xiaomi as vice president of product management. This move was said to help the company expand into new markets. And so the preparations began.

We know these guys are here to stay, but what will the future hold for them? If Xiaomi is good at anything, it is at being patient. They will always wait for the right time to make any move, but be sure they are also adamant about their expansion.

One of the main factors holding Xiaomi back is availability, which is why the startup plans to enter new markets soon. They are currently dipping their toes into western waters by launching official accessory stores in the US, UK, Germany and France.

Don’t get overly excited, though. Hugo Barra was quick to say that they are taking it easy on US device launches, as Americans have different needs, purchasing habits and different carrier models. The company would first need to address those factors, so they are not rushing to bring their main products here just yet. Right now it’s all about brand awareness.

Xiaomi does want to take its business to another country in the Americas, though. They want to pierce into Latin America by first conquering Brazil. In addition, a new partnership with Leadcore may signal Xiaomi supplying its own chipset, and rumors suggest they even have plans for making a laptop.

Xiaomi in the future

Some say Xiaomi is the “next big thing”, while others claim it’s “China’s Apple”. The truth is it’s neither, and we must give them credit for that. Their business and pricing model is nothing like Apple’s, Samsung’s or any other manufacturer’s. Some of their devices might have certain similarities to others, but a Xiaomi product is hard to be mistaken.

It is companies like Xiaomi that are changing the way we look at technology. This is why I don’t see them going anywhere, at least anytime soon. The startup sure has its complications, but I feel like these are being taken into account by Xiaomi. Only time will tell, but so far it all seems to point towards a successful future for Xiaomi.

What do you think? Will Xiaomi raise to the top and compete more closely against the big guys? Will they just get stuck at some point? Hit the comments and share your thoughts!

Android Authority

Xiaomi probably surprised a number of its home-grown fans in China when it announced that its new Mi 4i would be heading to India first, but such is the company’s focus on the fast growing Indian market. However, it looks like Chinese customers are in for a new low cost device of their own called the Mi 4c, complete with some beefed up specifications.

A picture from China of the back of the box has given away pretty much all of the specifications for the Mi 4c, which appears similar to the Mi 4i in many regards. There’s the same 13 megapixel rear camera, 5 megapixel front camera, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and similar 3,080mAh battery as the Indian handset.

However, the Xiaomi Mi 4c is expected to ship with a high performance Snapdragon 808 SoC, the same chip found in the LG G4. This SoC features two high power Cortex-A57 CPU cores, four lower power A53 cores and an Adreno 418 GPU. For comparison, the Mi 4i ships with an octa-core Snapdragon 615 SoC, which is built solely from lower performance Cortex-A53 cores and an Adreno 405 GPU. This should give the Mi 4c considerably more grunt in demanding scenarios and while gaming.

The Mi 4c also apparently comes with a USB Type-C connector, another first for a Xiaomi smartphone. Although not listed on the back of the box, the smartphone is also expected to ship with a 5-inch 1080p display and Xiaomi’s latest MIUI 7 operating system. A 32GB variant is also likely in the works.

We don’t have any official details regarding the handset’s price tag yet, but the Mi 4c is expected to cost around 1,299 Yuan, which is almost exactly the same price as the Mi 4i. That’s potentially a very good deal, even for a Xiaomi handset, given the extra processing hardware on board. A release announcement is expected sometime in the first week of September.

Android Authority