Xiaomi has launched its very own display-equipped smart speaker called Xiaoai Smart Speaker, a gadget that we see as an answer to Amazon Echo line of products – in particular the Amazon Echo Show, which has been updated recently, and Echo Spot. It is also an answer to several devices in market, like the LG XBOOM AI ThinQ WK9 Smart Display and the JBL LINK View Voice. TBH, I am skeptical about the demand for such devices, even in China, but here it is anyways.
Perhaps, the cumulative sales of Xiaomi’s very own voice assistant, Xiaoai, enabled speakers of over 9 million units to date and the fact that the voice assistant has been used more than 10 billion times did give Xiaomi the motivation to push out yet another smart speaker. Though this time, this particular device has a 3.97-inch touchscreen display with a modest 800 by 480 resolution that not only offers users with access to QQ music, but also QIY’s stash of movies, shows, and music videos.
As with device this nature, Xiaomi Xiaoai Smart Speaker lets you link up various smart devices to enable voice command, lets users in on the latest news and weather, and answer to whatever questions you may have. In addition, there are over 600 apps to choose from, 500+ practical skills, free voice calls, and support for smart cameras (such as the baby monitor) and smart doorbells to see who’s at the door. And yes, Xiaomi also has its own video doorbell too. Well, Xiaomi is not known as the provision of gadget world for nothing. Innit?
Those are not even it. Xiaomi said Xiaomi Xiaoai Smart Speaker offers access to 30,000 videos, 220K images, 4K picture books and 220K cartoon shows. Other notables include a lone 1.5-inch full range speaker, 2.4 GHz WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, support A2DP, and micro USB for charging and power. It does not support video call, though, because of the lack of an onboard camera.
Pre-order is on-going in China for a surprisingly hefty 9,999 yuan which, according to today’s going rate, works out to be around US$1,490. Despite the price point, around 170K folks have pre-ordered the Xiaomi Xiaoai Smart Speaker at the time of this writing.
Images: Xiaomi.
Source: Gizchina.
