Mi AI Speaker Release Date, News: Xiaomi Will Launch Voice-Activated Speaker for Only $45
This week, Xiaomi announced that they were also entering the smart speaker competition with the Mi AI Speaker, which will only cost 299 Chinese yuan or roughly $45 per unit.
On Wednesday, Chinese electronics manufacturer Xiaomi announced several of their upcoming software and hardware products, including their first-ever voice-activated speaker and smart assistant.
The Mi AI Speaker is expected to work in the same way that the Amazon Echo — the product that started the home smart speaker race — and other speakers in the market do. Priced at about $45, it has the ability to tell its users about the current traffic condition, the weather, remind them of their daily schedule, and more.
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It is also expected to sport some hardware specifications similar to the Amazon Echo (which costs $179.99). The Mi AI Speaker will have an array of six microphones, which means the device also features a 360-degree audio sensor.
Like Google Home (which normally costs $129), Xiaomi's Mi AI Speaker is also designed to support and connect to other Xiaomi-branded electronics. It is also expected to function like a controller for not just other Xiaomi devices but also to as much as 60 million home products from third-party manufacturers.
Based on its promotional materials, it appears that the Mi AI Speaker is also designed to be a family-oriented device. It promises to support music and audiobooks, especially those that have stories for children.
By next month, Xiaomi will allow up to 1,000 consumers in China to join their beta program for the Mi AI Speaker and to avail of the product for only 1 Chinese yuan. For a certain period, beta testers will be able to use the device and provide more input so the Mi AI Speaker can further be improved before its final version goes out into the market.
Based on Xiaomi's history of limited product releases in the United States in the past, it is still hard to tell whether this interesting, affordable product will ever arrive in North America or in countries other than China.
