Overview
On July 27, Xiaomi announced two configurations of the Xiaomi Notebook Air, available in 12.5-inch and 13.3-inch sizes. The exterior resembles the Apple Air design and the models emphasize thinness and performance. This article summarizes review videos, including the launch presentation, quick-start guides, the Air 13 unboxing, and gaming experience footage.
Model Options and Positioning
The notebook can be customized with a laser-engraved Xiaomi logo on the lid, or a no-logo version allows users to apply custom stickers to the lid. Compared with other ultrabooks on the market, the Xiaomi Notebook Air targets the mid-range segment with a focus on value. The design and features are acceptable for its class, and the performance configuration can handle most daily office work, multimedia, and mainstream gaming.
Design
- No-logo option for a customizable lid.
- Thin bezels allow a 13.3-inch full HD screen to fit in a body similar to a 12-inch laptop, improving portability and aesthetics.
Performance
- Standard configuration includes a GT940MX discrete GPU, which offers roughly 10% to 20% performance improvement over the GT940M. Performance sits between the GTX 750M and GTX 950M, sufficient to run games such as League of Legends smoothly at high settings.
- Processor and storage: i5-6200U + 8 GB DDR4 memory + 256 GB SSD are typical ultrabook specs. The configuration with the GT940MX discrete GPU is priced at 4,999 yuan, making it a competitive mid-range option.
User Experience
- White backlit keyboard and thin-bezel design provide a good visual experience.
- Solid metal feel; the lid does not flex noticeably under light pressure.
- Charging speed is close to fast-charging on some phones: depleted battery to full in about one hour under the tested conditions.
- Data-sharing features facilitate fast transfers between Xiaomi phones and Xiaomi notebooks for users within that ecosystem.
- Overall system responsiveness, data transfer, and file compression performance are satisfactory for typical use.
Accessories
- Optional USB 3.1 Type-C adapter cable is available for purchase. Standard ports include USB 3.0, HDMI, and a USB 3.1 Type-C port that can also be used for charging and is compatible with the Apple MacBook. The adapter is priced at 149 yuan.
- There is an additional M.2 SATA SSD slot so users can expand storage capacity themselves.
Limitations and Areas for Improvement
While the product positioning targets younger users, the Air still has aspects that could be improved in future revisions.
- Overall build quality is generally good, but the 13.3-inch review unit exhibited a very slight wobble at the maximum open angle when pressed, which may be a sample-specific issue. Production units may differ.
- Thermal design: exhaust vents are placed at the hinge while intake vents are on the bottom panel, and the chassis has a relatively low profile. Under an AIDA64 stress test with all hardware pushed to 100% utilization, the exhaust vent area, the area above the keyboard, and the top of the screen became noticeably warm. In typical office or gaming scenarios, CPU and GPU utilization is much lower, so temperatures should be reduced in real use. For better cooling, future models could adopt side or rear exhaust vents.
- The island-style keyboard has compact up/down adjustment keys in the lower-right corner that are smaller than adjacent keys, which can feel uncomfortable and lead to occasional mispresses.
- No built-in SD card slot was provided, which may inconvenience users who work with photography. External card readers are an extra accessory and are not always convenient to carry.
Performance Benchmarks
Below are basic performance results for the 13.3-inch Xiaomi Notebook Air, including synthetic benchmark scores and some practical application tests.
CPU
CPU-Z benchmark screenshots are shown below. The CPU-Z results indicate that single-core performance is higher than the i7-4558U, while multi-core performance is slightly lower than the i7-4558U.
▲ CPU-Z scores: single-core performance higher than i7-4558U; multi-core performance slightly lower than i7-4558U.
