Xiaomi, a Chinese consumer electronics company, is well-known for delivering high-quality, low-cost products all over the world. The company also entered the laptop market a few years ago. By 2021, Xiaomi will be launching premium priced laptops. In August 2021, the company was launch the Mi NoteBook Ultra. The laptop is loaded with features and has a high tolerance quotient for high demanding applications.
Has Xiaomi managed to achieve the same with its latest flagship laptop as it has with its affordable laptops? In my review below, I will address this question and many more.
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Mi Notebook Ultra Specifications
16GB DDR4 RAM | 512GB NVMe SSD | 65W Type-C fast charging | 15.6-inch 90Hz Quad-HD+ IPS LCD display | 11th Gen Intel Core i7-11370H processor | Intel Xris Xe GPU | 16GB DDR4 RAM | 512GB NVMe SSD
Mi Notebook Ultra Price in India
Mi Notebook Ultra (8GB/512GB SSD/Core i5) Amazon Price
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Mi Notebook Ultra (16GB/512GB SSD/Core i5) Amazon Price
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Mi Notebook Ultra (16GB/512GB SSD/Core i7) Amazon Price
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Mi Notebook Ultra Design & Build
To begin, I'd like to point out that the Mi Notebook Ultra appears to be a Macbook Pro from afar. The design appears to be primarily inspired by the Macbook Pro, with grey aluminium chassis, black bezels, a black butterfly keyboard, and a large trackpad. Many people would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the two if I covered the Xiaomi emblem on the lid with an Apple sticker. However, because the Macbook Pro is one of the most gorgeous and sleek-looking laptops available, this may not be a terrible thing.
In the hand, the chassis feels solid. There is some vertical flex in the lid's centre and back, but the keyboard area is rock solid. Overall, the chassis rigidity and structural strength are satisfactory.
The 15.6-inch screen has an aspect ratio of 16:10, which allows you to rest your arms on the sides of the trackpad while typing. Even though the edges are at a 90-degree angle, they aren't particularly sharp.
The hinge is both solid and soft. Although the hinge does not open all the way to 180 degrees, the angle is adequate for almost all usage scenarios. The laptop easily passes the one-finger opening test with no movement to the bottom part, which is excellent.
The laptop has an integrated fingerprint sensor that also serves as a power button. The fingerprint sensor performs admirably. It almost always correctly detects fingerprints and is quick as well.
Overall, the build quality is good, especially considering the price. Although I haven't dropped the laptop, it appears to be able to withstand a few blows without major damage. If you're looking for a laptop that can withstand a few knocks now and then, the Mi Notebook Ultra won't let you down.
Mi Notebook Ultra Keyboard & trackpad
For people like me, the keyboard on a laptop is one of the most important features to consider. Our job requires a lot of typing, and a comfortable keyboard makes the job a lot easier.
The butterfly keyboard on the Mi Notebook Ultra was quite good. The key presses are extremely pleasurable. The key travel is adequate, and the actuation pressure is just right for me. The only odd thing I noticed was that the chassis had enough room for a dedicated Numpad, but the company chose not to include one. Apple does the same thing with the Macbook, but they include beefy speakers on the sides, which would be fantastic if Xiaomi included speakers there. They could have done a better job with the layout, in my opinion. It's nice that there's a macro button that can be set to open any app or file.
The glass trackpad is quite sturdy, and the clicks are satisfying. I found the trackpad to be quick, dependable, and precise. The trackpad DPI isn't as high as I'd like, but you can always increase the sensitivity.
Mi Notebook Ultra Display
The display on the Mi Notebook Ultra is a 15.6-inch 90Hz QHD+ IPS LCD. One of the biggest letdowns is that the company chose an LCD display over an LED panel, but the 90Hz and Quad-HD+ resolution help a little.
The display is sufficiently bright, and the details are sharp. I don't have the proper equipment to test the display colour accuracy. However, I believe the colours were exaggerated.
While gaming, I appreciated this laptop's higher refresh rate, but I did miss my 144Hz PC screen. Even when I'm web browsing, watching online content, or going about my regular activities, the 90Hz refresh rate makes the experience much smoother.
Another thing that bothers me about the device is its 16:10 aspect ratio, which feels strange when using it. However, this is a personal preference, so I won't dwell on it too much.
The laptop's display is matte, which helps to reduce reflections. This is especially noticeable when working outside. The display matte coating improves visibility significantly. Overall, the display panel is good; the only drawbacks are that it is LCD and has a 16:10 aspect ratio.
Mi Notebook Ultra Performance
The 11th Gen Intel Core i5-11370H processor is paired with 16GB of RAM and an integrated Intel Xris Xe GPU in the Mi Notebook Ultra. While that may be just tech jargon to most, it is music to the ears of a tech nerd. The only improvement I can think of is a better graphics card, and that's it.
All of the basic tasks I threw at it were easily completed by the laptop. Even with triple digits of Chrome tabs open in a single window, I found no stutters. So, if your workload consists solely of basic tasks, this is the laptop for you.
Moving on to more demanding tasks, gaming on a laptop is a big if due to the lack of a dedicated graphics card. Basic games, such as CS:GO, work perfectly fine, but many of the newer, more demanding titles, such as Gears 5, were inaccessible. Many games simply did not launch.
Basic video editing in Adobe Premiere Pro was enjoyable and simple, with a 5 minute full HD video taking about 10 minutes to render. However, the machine struggled greatly while editing heavy load renders.
Moving on to more demanding tasks, gaming on a laptop is a big if due to the lack of a dedicated graphics card. Basic games, such as CS:GO, work perfectly fine, but many of the newer, more demanding titles, such as Gears 5, were inaccessible. Many games simply did not even open.
Basic video editing in Adobe Premiere Pro was enjoyable and simple, with a 5 minute full HD video taking about 10 minutes to render. However, the machine struggled greatly while editing heavy load renders.
Android Studio also performed admirably, and the laptop was able to handle app development and testing with ease.
With workloads that aren't GPU-intensive, the laptop performs admirably. Under extended workloads, there is some thermal throttling, which is to be expected given the thin and light profile.
Mi Notebook Ultra Laptop Review Battery
In terms of battery life, the device has a 70Whr battery, which is adequate. The device managed to provide me with a battery life of around ten hours during daily usage with the workload including typing, browsing the internet, and watching a few YouTube videos. Due to heavy workloads, the laptop only lasted about 8 hours.
The laptop comes with a 65W charging brick that charges the battery in about 3 hours. It's a Type-C USB PD charger, which is fantastic.
Mi Notebook Ultra Verdict
The Mi Notebook Ultra is priced at Rs 76,990, and for that price, the laptop delivers. It manages to provide excellent performance, battery life, and other benefits. It punches above its weight and wins a few games. The only downsides are the underwhelming speaker setup, an LCD display, and the lack of a dedicated graphics card. Aside from these flaws, the laptop is quite good for the price.
If you're looking for a sub-Rs 80,000 laptop for work or daily use, this is one of the better laptops you can buy without feeling guilty. However, because Xiaomi is a newcomer to the laptop market, I am concerned about after-sales support and durability.