Rumours have already suggested Xiaomi’s plans to foray into the notebook PC segment, and now a new report has added more weight to it. According to a Taipei Times report, the half-a-decade-old company may launch its first laptop in the first half of the next year.
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On Wednesday Richard Lee, chairman of manufacturer Inventec, confirmed that his company would be assembling Xiaomi’s first laptops, which he said would be shipping in the first two quarters of 2016.
Xiaomi, which has earned a name selling insanely cheap-priced smartphones, smart TVs, a smart band, and a range of other smart products, is indeed making a laptop.
Lee said the Xiaomi laptop is developed by Inventec’s handset subsidiary, Inventec Appliance, which assembled about 30 million smartphones for Xiaomi a year ago.
Lee pointed out that the company is now assisting Xiaomi to build a notebook with concept and design completely different from the traditional notebook.
While no definite specifications have been mentioned at this point in time, Taiwanese media reported that the laptop will have a 15 inch display, and will be running a Linux operating system with the starting price of 2,999 yuan(US$471).
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Xiaomi was the world’s fourth-largest smartphone maker in the second quarter of this year, capturing a 5.3% share and trailing behind Samsung’s 21.7%, Apple’s 14.1% and Huawei’s 8.9%, according to research group worldwide Data Corp (IDC). It will be interesting to see if Xiaomi can have the same amount of success in the PC industry as they do in the smartphone industry.
