Talking tech since 2003

Xiaomi has seemingly come out of nowhere to enter the smart TV conversation, and with the company’s most recent announcement, it’ll likely be staying for a bit.

Earlier today at an event, the company showed off a 49-inch smart TV that boasts both 4K resolution and an OS powered by Android TV. But the price is really what’s going to turn heads; Xiaomi plans to sell the set for CN¥3,999 in China. In United States dollars, that equates to about $640.

I’ve seen some cheaper 4K TVs being sold, but they’re often packing bare minimum specs and features. The Xiaomi set will reportedly pack a display from either LG or CSOT, a 1.45 GHz quad-core CPU (for running all those apps and games), 2 GB of RAM, and 8 GB of onboard storage that can be expanded via microSD to 64 GB.

Photo credit: Engadget
Photo credit: Engadget

All of that packed into a TV with a $640 price tag? That’s definitely worth a look.

It would be a mistake to view Xiaomi as an unknown Chinese company. The company was able to poach a senior Android staff member, Hugo Barra, to serve as a vice president, and it’s experienced a meteoric rise since its launch in 2010. The company’s most recent reports indicate $5.2 billion in revenue.

The company seems to be doing okay in China, but will it bring its products into the United States? We have a pretty sizable about of TV manufacturers vying for our dollars here, but we don’t really have a lot of innovation happening in the low-to-mid tier. It’s an area that could use a shot in the arm, and having an outside company come in with a set that is both cheaper and more feature-packed could do quite a bit to make that happen.

What do you think of the specs on Xiaomi’s 4K TV? Would you be interested in getting one? Drop us a line below with your thoughts.

[via Engadget]

You've successfully subscribed to BestTechie
Welcome back! You've successfully signed in.
Great! You've successfully signed up.
Your link has expired
Success! Your account is fully activated, you now have access to all content.