Xiaomi is a Chinese manufacturer of budget consumer tech gadgets, which has a distinct flavor of the premium range Apple products, may it be the mobile phones under the Redmi brand-name, whose user interface seems a rip-off of the iPhone UI, or the tablets which mimic the iPad form factor. Xiaomi, however, delivers customer satisfaction, not only with the looks of a premium brand but also with robust build quality and price to die for. The Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro lives up to the reputation with a price tag of under $1200, for its 15.6 inches 8th generation Intel Core i7 powered notebook.
Table of Contents
The product at a Glance
- Intel Core i7 Processor
- 256 GB SSD with an option of expansion with an open M2 slot
- Nvidia GeForce MX150 DDR5 GPU with 2GB of dedicated VRAM
- 8/16 GB non removable, DDR4 RAM
- USB 3 Type A and USB 3.1 Type C (Without Thunderbolt Compatibility) connectivity with HDMI port, SD Card Reader and 3.5 MM headphone/microphone combo jack, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity options
- 60 Watt non-removable internal battery
- 15-inch narrow bezel 16:9 aspect ratio IPS Display having Gorilla Glass 3 cover
Form Factor
The Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro sports a 15.6 inch metallic uni-body design with a MacBook Pro-ish looks. It weighs approximately 2 kg. A welcome change in the color scheme, the Xiaomi Mi notebook pro replaces the common silver color scheme with dark grey.
A differentiation in the design as well with a clean minimalist look, getting rid of even the product branding (with a glossy or a glowing logo on the lid) is a welcome and surprising change. The right side of the device houses a
The left side of the laptop houses the 3.5 MM combo headphones and microphone jack, two USB 3.0 type A ports, and an HDMI 1.4 slot. The HDMI slot doesn’t support connections to a 4K 60 Hz monitor. There is no optical drive in this device. The laptop is powered by a 60 W hour battery which is non-removable and fitted inside the base plate therefore not accessible from outside. The base plate is removable, with eight Torx screws securing the base plate to the body of the laptop. The laptop has a Nvidia GeForce MX 150 DDR5 GPU with a dedicated 2GB VRAM to power the graphics utilities.
Processor
The Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro on the top-level is powered by an Intel 8th generation i7 processor with superior cooling facilities, ensured by dual fans working in tandem under the base plate. Both the fans and connected by a single copper duct and are reasonably quiet.
RAM
The Laptop comes with an option of an 8 or 16 GB DDR4 2400 MHz RAM. It is relevant to note that the RAM is not upgradable since the RAM slot is tucked beneath the copper duct of the fans.
Hard Disk Drive
Out of the box, Xiaomi offers a 256 GB Samsung PM 961 SSD storage option but however, an additional M2 slot is present under the hood for additional storage options.
Display Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro
The display of this device is a 15.6 inch IPS non-touch display with a Gorilla Glass 3 cover on it. It sports a resolution of 1920 x 1080p, with a 16:9 aspect ratio, and thin bezels on both the sides. However, the bezels on the top and the bottom are thicker, with the top bezel is slightly thinner than the bottom one.
The brightness levels are 360 nits to the max, and with a 94% sRGB, and 74% Adobe RGB, colour accuracy, this device is capable of a near-perfect color reproduction, Usage in indoors is pretty good, however, outdoor usage is impacted by the Gorilla Glass cover which is very glossy and reflective. The laptop gives an exceptional 4K video performance, with its perfect aspect ratio, big-screen, and a fantastic color reproduction.
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro GPU
The laptop is equipped out of the box with a dedicated Nvidia GeForce MX 150 DDR5 GPU, which churns out a decent performance while being utilized for video editing and graphic designs. However, the gaming performance can only be rated to be medium at the max. None of the graphics resource hungry games can be played in full resolution, without a drop in the frame rates, thereby having lax in the gameplay experience.
However, the notebook responds surprisingly well when the resolution has turned a notch down to medium details. This way, the i7 variant lags behind the i5 variant, which though had heating issues, was able to manage gaming a full resolution. The missing thunderbolt port is also a limiting factor for the MX 150 graphic card since external graphic docks cannot be connected.
Operating system
The out-of-the-box operating system is one of the major drawbacks of the Xiaomi Mi notebook pro. The laptop comes preloaded with Windows 10 Home Edition, only in Chinese. Though there are workarounds for installing the English language, either by upgrading the operating system or by downloading certain packs, the process is not very easy for those who are not acquainted with it.
- Related Post: Mi Notebook Air Review 2018 – Ultra Light Laptop
Battery Life
The laptop is powered by a 60 Watt non-removable battery which gives approximately 7 hours of working time with normal official work a little bit of streaming media and a little bit of gaming.
