Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition First Impressions

Xiaomi has made its title in India with reasonably priced smartphones, and extra not too long ago, sensible TVs. The firm’s success in every of those segments has been nothing in need of spectacular. Each new launch will get an exceptional quantity of consideration, and that is a direct reflection of how disruptive its costs are. We’re hoping to see comparable upheaval within the laptop computer market, with Xiaomi lastly bringing its first fashions to India after a lot anticipation. If the Mi Notebook and Mi Notebook Horizon Edition take off, they might make life fairly tough for Dell, HP, Acer and Lenovo. We’re going to take our first take a look at the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition, which is probably the most premium mannequin of at the moment’s launches.

Xiaomi advised Gadgets 360 that it does not intend to flood the market with a number of fashions and variants, citing widespread confusion and duplication in shops proper now. The Mi Notebook and Mi Notebook Horizon Edition product strains are suitably differentiated, and costs are staggered sensibly.

The Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition can be obtainable with both an Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processor. The two choices are priced at Rs. 54,999 and Rs. 59,999 respectively in India. The extra reasonably priced Mi Notebook 14 begins at Rs. 41,999, and you’ll learn all in regards to the variations between these fashions and variants in our launch occasion protection.

The physique of the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition is manufactured from an alloy of aluminium and magnesium. One fascinating design contact is that there is not any emblem on the lid – it is fully clean. Xiaomi has gone with a matte sandblasted texture, besides that is downright minimalist in comparison with the whole lot else we have seen from the corporate. The steel appears darkish silver however takes on a heat tinge when seen beneath daylight. We like this look, and we suspect that some folks can be glad to not have Xiaomi or Mi branding on an costly laptop computer.

Xiaomi emphasises that the lid of the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition will be lifted with only one finger, and that the underside will not elevate itself or slide round on a desk. We discovered this to be true, and it does make this laptop computer simpler to make use of. The hinge nonetheless feels stable and there is minimal flex to the lid even with strain utilized intentionally. The solely Mi emblem you may see is true under the display.

One of the important thing design parts of the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition is the slim 3mm borders to the edges and high of the display. Many producers have gone down this route on their premium fashions. The display additionally stands out as a result of it doesn’t have a shiny coating, which is one thing we actually recognize. This will assist scale back reflections and glare, particularly with indoor lighting.

The rear of the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition is totally clean

While different producers have managed to combine webcams into such slim borders, Xiaomi determined to drop the characteristic fully. The firm advised Gadgets 360 that on the time of improvement, its analysis confirmed that individuals did not actually care about webcams. However, the current explosion of video conferencing for distant work, training and communication has modified this, and so a USB webcam can be included with every laptop computer. This is a reasonably mild unit that simply sits on the highest lip of the lid without having for any form of clip or clamp.

Those slim borders additionally contribute to the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition’s comparatively compact dimensions. As many different producers declare, you get a 14-inch display in a physique the dimensions of most 13.3-inch laptops. The physique is 17.15mm skinny and weighs 1.35kg which is effectively inside Ultrabook territory. We would not have a lot hassle carrying this laptop computer round with us every single day.

We have a full-HD 1920×1080-pixel display which seems to be sharp and brilliant. In our preliminary impressions, viewing angles and color replica appear positive. There are bottom-firing 2W stereo audio system on the edges of the bottom.

The keyboard keys seem like effectively spaced, though the arrow cluster is sadly compressed. Xiaomi says its scissor key motion and 1.3mm journey make this keyboard very snug, and we’ll see for ourselves in our full assessment. A keyboard backlight would have been very welcome, however this mannequin does not have that characteristic.

The keyboard and trackpad seem like giant and effectively spaced

For the variant we now have with us, Xiaomi has gone with the 10^th Gen Intel Core i7-10510U processor, and curiously there is a discrete Nvidia GeForce MX350 GPU. The firm proudly claims that this GPU delivers gaming-grade efficiency, however it’s a very entry-level, bare-basic mannequin, so do not elevate your hopes too excessive should you’re on the lookout for a disruptively priced gaming laptop computer. The Horizon Edition fashions get a 512GB NVMe SSD whereas the decrease fashions have SATA SSDs. There’s additionally 8GB of RAM which is sadly soldered and never upgradeable.

Battery life is alleged to be 10 hours because of the 46Wh battery. There’s additionally Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5, and DTS audio enhancement. You get two USB 3.1 (Gen1) ports Type-A ports and one Type-C port, one USB 2.zero port, HDMI 1.4b, and a 3.5mm audio socket. Charging will not be supported by the Type-C port; you may have to make use of the normal charger.

Xiaomi clearly is aware of it has a repute in the case of bloatware and spam, as a result of it was fast to guarantee us that there is none of that with Windows 10 on the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition. You do get two preloaded utilities: Blaze Unlock lets the laptop computer recognise a appropriate Mi Band and unlock itself while you stroll as much as it, and Smart Share enables you to ship information between units, very similar to Apple’s AirDrop.

There’s so much to love in regards to the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition. It’s compact, sturdy, and handsome, however extra importantly, the value appears cheap. The record of specs appears promising, and we’ll let you know all about the way it performs in the true world as soon as we put it by our full assessment course of. Do keep tuned to Gadgets 360.