It hasn’t been long since Xiaomi launched its first ever laptop – one that was seemingly introduced to rival Apple’s Macbook series, particularly the Macbook Air (if the name similarities aren’t obvious enough.)
Both the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air and Apple’s Macbook Pro 13-inch 2017 (sans the Touch Bar) show promise in their own way.
Related:
- Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air launched for P29k
- Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air Review
- Surface Laptop or Macbook Pro? I’d Pick the Surface Laptop
But in terms of a few aspects, we think the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air shows some potential over Apple’s non-Touch Bar equipped Macbook Pro 2017 model. Why is that so?
Table of Contents
Top Five Advantages of the Mi Notebook Air vs Macbook Pro
1. Need ports? Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air has more of them!
Unlike the Macbook Pro, which requires you to adapt to its reliance of (expensive) adapters that are compatible with your old USBs, the Mi Notebook Air still gives you the option to plug in your old USBs, thanks to two full-sized USB 3.0 ports, a USB type-C 3.1 port, and an HDMI port.
2. It’s extremely light and portable.
Unlike the Macbook Pro, which is pretty heavy at three pounds, the Mi Notebook Air only weighs at least a pound with the same size – a little detail that you might want to consider if you want to take your portable UltraBook around with you.
3. Its graphics cards are pretty powerful.
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air runs with an NVIDIA GeForce MX150, which trumps the Macbook Pro’s Intel-based graphics.
As a result, you can play games with the Mi Notebook Air. Don’t expect it to run the highest quality games, though.
But you’ll be surprised at how well it can do if you play games such as DOTA with it, so casual to mid-level gamers would appreciate this additional detail.
4. It runs Windows.
We honestly hope you won’t take this for granted.
We cannot stress how essential having a Windows-powered computer would be if you want a laptop that can open your files without having to worry about porting certain apps that you’d like into something compatible with your laptop’s OS.
And if you really want something for heavier work, the Mi Notebook Air comes with Windows 10 Home, which also has multitasking capabilities.
5. For its price, the Mi Notebook Air is relatively okay for its cost.
Looking for a good AND affordable laptop that can also deliver the same results as the Macbook series? Unlike the Macbook Pro (the cheapest of which can be nabbed at P76,990), the price of the Mi Notebook Air ranges between P35,000 to P39,000, depending on whether you’d prefer getting the 12.5-inch Mi Notebook Air or its slightly more powerful 13.3-inch counterpart.
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air and Macbook Pro 13-inch 2017 (without Touchbar)
Specs | Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air | Macbook Pro 13-inch 2017 (w/o Touchbar) |
Display | Full HD Display | Retina Display, Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 |
Dimension | 30.96 cm x 21.09 cm x 1.48 lbs (1.3kg) | 14.9 cm x 30.41 cm x 21.24 cm 3.02 lbs (1.37kg) |
Design | Full metal body | Aluminum |
Colors | Silver, Gold | Space Gray, Silver |
Processor | 6th Generation Intel Core M3 (12.5-inch) and i5 processor (13.3-inch) | 7th Generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processor |
Internal Memory | 4GB RAM, 128GB SATA SSD (12.5-inch) 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM; 8GB DDR4 + 256GB PCle SSD (13.3-inch) |
8GB (configurable to 16GB of memory) |
RAM | 2.2GHz max (12.5-inch); 2.7GHz max (13.3-inch) | 2.3GHz Kaby Lake dual core (i5), with 64MB of eDRAM |
Keyboard | Full-sized backlit keyboard | Full-sized backlit keyboard |
Track Pad Type | Multi-Touch Glass Touchpad | Force Touch trackpad with Multi-Touch gestures |
Storage | 128GB (SSD), 256GB (PCle SSD) | 128GB, 256GB (configurable to 256GB, 512GB or 1TB SSD) |
Camera | 1mp Full Front HD front-facing sensor | 720p FaceTime HD camera |
Connectivity | USB type-C 3.1, 2 x full-sized USB 3.0, HDMI, Bluetooth 4.1 | USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports (2); Display Port; Thunderbolt (up to 40Gbps); USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10 Gbps), headphone jack |
Battery | 4cell Lithium-ion polymer battery (supports USB-Type C fast charging) | Internal lithium polymer battery
|
OS | Pre-installed Windows 10 Home Chinese Edition | macOS Sierra |
Pricing | Price: $750 USD in China, P35,000 to P39,000 in the Philippines | P76,990 / P88,990 |
Release Date | August 2016 | October 2016 |
Where to Buy | Online stores in the Philippines | Apple Store, local and online retail stores |