For a brand like Mi, which has evidently become a ‘household’ brand in India, its very important to understand the customer. For a brand like Mi, it becomes very important to identify with the customer. For a brand like Mi, it becomes very important for them to deliver on the needs of that customer. And the day and age we Indians live in, price is that one factor in the equation that is always a constant.
So when Xiaomi revealed that its going to launch a TV, albeit a 4K smart TV at INR 39999/-, naturally we want it. We might not need it, but we definitely want it. It’s a good bargain.
Xiaomi, the company with its brands like Mi & Redmi, has already captured the minds and spaces in the consumer electronics business in the Asiatic countries. And their USP has always been good quality products in an affordable range. Primarily though, Mi India portfolio comprises of mobile devices, accessories and a small assortment of smart wearable tech here and there. But that’s not even close to what Xiaomi’s entire inventory looks like. If you are in the least bit intrigued, head over to places like www.gearbest.com and let your mind be blown.
Coming back to the 4K Smart TV, here are the listed features on Mi India website.
World’s thinnest LED TV – at 4.9mm thick (or thin?), this TV is thinner than most flagship phones resting in your pocket.
• Frameless Display – Or shall we call it the bezel-less TV. And like all things “bezel-less”, in a truer sense, this TV has a decent amount of skirt bezel which houses the Mi logo.
• Power Memory – This TV sports a 64bit QuadCore processor with 2 Gigs of RAM and 8 Gigs of storage. But there are plenty of ports to expand your storage.
• Ports – USB3.0, USB 2.0, two HDMI Inputs, one HDMI ARC, Ethernet, External Antenna, S/PDIF and interestingly an old school RLV AV Input (just in case you might have the urge
to plug in the VCR/VCP that your dad has stashed somewhere in the garage.
What you get in the box is the TV itself, an Apple TV inspired remote control which is all analog, an InfraRed cable, a power brick and the documentation. If we compare it to the other smart TVs available in the market (mainly with the Samsung Smart TV, because I have that installed at home), the Mi Smart LED TV 4 holds up the fort on most fronts. Of course, the refresh rate is slightly lesser, but in this price, Mi gives you 4K visuals. However, this TV has MALI T830 Graphics card installed and that ensures a good viewing experience.
Bluetooth on this device is version 4.0, but I guess that is ‘enough’ in a smart TV sense. There are other points where the Mi TV doesn’t fare well enough, but this product covers its shortcomings with a function called the PatchWall. PatchWall is Mi’s artificial intelligence network which identifies a customer’s viewing patterns and suggests similar content. Much like the Google searches on all your other devices.
Applications installed on this device are in the nascent stage and the review unit did not have NETFLIX and AMAZON Prime compatibility. On the other hand, Hungama Play is preinstalled.
There is no reason to get bummed out, on account of no “Netflix & Chill”; the company says they will be providing the software update that will fix this issue once the units are rolled out.
All in all, this is a pretty decent product to buy because above all, the price of this TV is what justifies the monies spent. We say buy it.
