The new xiomai 'MacBook Pro' all be it W10 is compelling

[EmlynDewar]

I could install the English language Single Language version on mine, but it would not activate automatically, or over phone support, singling out the Chinese language as the reason.
Just looking at the Xiaomi site spec, it purely states home edition. I'll give it a go again on mine at some stage.

Only thing I absolutely had to do on mine was update to the latest official Synaptics toughpad driver, as the pre-installed/Windows update found one was garbage!

If someone was absolutely sure they could handle Windows 10 over Mac OS (and I know that's a big ask for many here), I'd have no hesitation buying a Chinese laptop.

 

[Queen6]

Nice notebook for the asking price.

Q-6

 

[SteveJUAE]

Nice notebook for the asking price.

Q-6

Yes impressive for those that like the footprint size and do not want to be forced in to over specing with the MBP and it has serviceable SSD's

 

[qawes]

Personally I'm open minded to such upcoming companies in the notebook space.

Already owning Huawei's superb MateBook X, being a far superior notebook compared to my Retina MacBook. Give Huawei, Xaomi and the likes a couple more cycles and they will easily be exceeding Apple.

For professional use Apple is fast becoming a joke, offering little more than overpriced lifestyle products. Currently Apple doesn't deserve my custom, nor will it see it, given the current garbage it produces, however well appointed...

Q-6

True, but I also rely on their customer service, the huge improvements they are making to Logic Pro (it's price alone is worth the difference from a Win laptop running some other DAW which is 3-4x the price with similar and even less features).

Furthermore, we can see very clearly that Apple is greatly improving the macOS and even my 3 gen. old MBP is serving me well without any issues.

Even though those Chinese companies stated above might surpass Apple regarding hardware design and specs, the software they'll be running is inferior.

To each is own, though, and as far as I'm concerned, Apple still delivers good performance, reliability, customer support and great software to make my work easier. My skills are not "locked" in Apple's ecosystem, but the cost/benefit analysis in my personal scenario placed it above any other good PC laptop with similar software/hardware features, build quality and reliability.

 

[Queen6]

True, but I also rely on their customer service, the huge improvements they are making to Logic Pro (it's price alone is worth the difference from a Win laptop running some other DAW which is 3-4x the price with similar and even less features).

Furthermore, we can see very clearly that Apple is greatly improving the macOS and even my 3 gen. old MBP is serving me well without any issues.

Even though those Chinese companies stated above might surpass Apple regarding hardware design and specs, the software they'll be running is inferior.

To each is own, though, and as far as I'm concerned, Apple still delivers good performance, reliability, customer support and great software to make my work easier. My skills are not "locked" in Apple's ecosystem, but the cost/benefit analysis in my personal scenario placed it above any other good PC laptop with similar software/hardware features, build quality and reliability.

I don't have that opinion as I now have more issue with my Mac's than Windows 10. Major problem is Apple's focus is very far from the Mac. Much of course is related to usage for me I have ceased using Apple for professional purpose as they are now no longer stable enough...

Q-6

 

[SteveJUAE]

True, but I also rely on their customer service, the huge improvements they are making to Logic Pro (it's price alone is worth the difference from a Win laptop running some other DAW which is 3-4x the price with similar and even less features).

Furthermore, we can see very clearly that Apple is greatly improving the macOS and even my 3 gen. old MBP is serving me well without any issues.

Even though those Chinese companies stated above might surpass Apple regarding hardware design and specs, the software they'll be running is inferior.

To each is own, though, and as far as I'm concerned, Apple still delivers good performance, reliability, customer support and great software to make my work easier. My skills are not "locked" in Apple's ecosystem, but the cost/benefit analysis in my personal scenario placed it above any other good PC laptop with similar software/hardware features, build quality and reliability.

Sorry I find your reasoning and basis a bit mixed

Firstly surely the best laptop is one you do not need to run for customer service every 5 mins. I have owned many mac's and never had to use their customer service, so for you to rely on it so much seems you must be doing something wrong or you have been unlucky.

What little I know about DAW is the same for many applications especially amongst the top 3 (Albeton/Logic Pro/Pro Tools) they all have strengths and weaknesses and of course personal preference but many pro's are likely to use more than one.

If it was my profession I would not be so concerned on the cost of a few $100 on software that could generate me $1000's because I over paid on hardware for example

You seem price locked not Eco locked in to Apple by preferring Logic Pro where the other 2 are cross platform

To suggest others are running inferior software because a cheaper package suits your preference/wallet is just rhetoric

If you prefer MacOs and Logic Pro that's fine but it almost seems your talents maybe hindered by lack of options where cheaper hardware may/could afforded you more software options and so greater creativity

Too me it's like being a mechanic who chooses Snap-on but can only afford imperial sockets your only playing with half the set

This is where these newer vendors who offer more bang for your dollar really help users on a budget as it enables money to be spent where it counts

We all like the best, latest and greatest but sometimes the best hardware takes second place to software as this is where real productivity and creativity is generated not a few m/s of SSD speed etc.

There is sometimes a good case for reliability and support but with many small or one man bands any one running with just one laptop is asking for trouble regardless of OEM

 

[throAU]

Discuss......

Nope, it’s not.

 

[qawes]

Firstly surely the best laptop is one you do not need to run for customer service every 5 mins. I have owned many mac's and never had to use their customer service, so for you to rely on it so much seems you must be doing something wrong or you have been unlucky.

Never said that I'm using their customer service every other day. I rarely do, and not for issues regarding my workstation

I was comparing Apple's customer service with Xiaomi's and Huawei's. Good luck reaching them if your mobile workstation fails.

What little I know about DAW is the same for many applications especially amongst the top 3 (Albeton/Logic Pro/Pro Tools) they all have strengths and weaknesses and of course personal preference but many pro's are likely to use more than one.

If it was my profession I would not be so concerned on the cost of a few $100 on software that could generate me $1000's because I over paid on hardware for example

Well, that's just a myth. The same audio principles apply to every DAW, and each one has it's interface and features geared towards certain workflows and applications. If one needs a different DAW to accomplish a certain task, then the problem is not the DAW he was using firsthand, but his training and abilities.

Furthermore, Ableton is not even in the "top 3", if there was such a thing. The big players right now are Cubase and Logic Pro X, followed by Pro Tools (which is rapidly dying and remains targeted to older engineers). Even Reaper does an astounding job at mixing/mastering, not to mention production. Ableton is geared towards EDM live performances.

My main point is that Logic has great value for it's price, great stock plug-ins (which are proved to sound even better than the outdated Pro Tools ones), and I can use the extra cash saved to buy third party plug-ins that cat help me deliver those projects who "generate me $1000's because I over paid on hardware for example" even faster

To suggest others are running inferior software because a cheaper package suits your preference/wallet is just rhetoric

If you prefer MacOs and Logic Pro that's fine but it almost seems your talents maybe hindered by lack of options where cheaper hardware may/could afforded you more software options and so greater creativity

Too me it's like being a mechanic who chooses Snap-on but can only afford imperial sockets your only playing with half the set

Your comparison just underlined your above statement about DAW knowledge. To put this in simpler terms, Logic used to cost much more and the fact that Apple made it WAY cheaper to attract Mac buyers geared towards Audio, and using a great dev team to implement incredible features, makes it worthwhile.

We all like the best, latest and greatest but sometimes the best hardware takes second place to software as this is where real productivity and creativity is generated not a few m/s of SSD speed etc.

My point exactly.

There is sometimes a good case for reliability and support but with many small or one man bands any one running with just one laptop is asking for trouble regardless of OEM

Funny how you came to this conclusion by reading a simple opinion that I've written. I was only referring to my mobile workstation.

If you'd like, I can go in-depth about Cubase and Nuendo which we use in our Sound Design and Implementation studio, but that's another story and I do not offer personal consultancy for free

 

[SteveJUAE]

Never said that I'm using their customer service every other day. I rarely do, and not for issues regarding my workstation

I was comparing Apple's customer service with Xiaomi's and Huawei's. Good luck reaching them if your mobile workstation fails.

Well, that's just a myth. The same audio principles apply to every DAW, and each one has it's interface and features geared towards certain workflows and applications. If one needs a different DAW to accomplish a certain task, then the problem is not the DAW he was using firsthand, but his training and abilities.

Furthermore, Ableton is not even in the "top 3", if there was such a thing. The big players right now are Cubase and Logic Pro X, followed by Pro Tools (which is rapidly dying and remains targeted to older engineers). Even Reaper does an astounding job at mixing/mastering, not to mention production. Ableton is geared towards EDM live performances.

My main point is that Logic has great value for it's price, great stock plug-ins (which are proved to sound even better than the outdated Pro Tools ones), and I can use the extra cash saved to buy third party plug-ins that cat help me deliver those projects who "generate me $1000's because I over paid on hardware for example" even faster

Your comparison just underlined your above statement about DAW knowledge. To put this in simpler terms, Logic used to cost much more and the fact that Apple made it WAY cheaper to attract Mac buyers geared towards Audio, and using a great dev team to implement incredible features, makes it worthwhile.

My point exactly.

Funny how you came to this conclusion by reading a simple opinion that I've written. I was only referring to my mobile workstation.

If you'd like, I can go in-depth about Cubase and Nuendo which we use in our Sound Design and Implementation studio, but that's another story and I do not offer personal consultancy for free

Thanks for the reply I had no intent in belittling your choices just the mixed message and cost benefit that seemed somewhat contrived to make some point of supposedly superiority whilst being cheap

Glad you are not so reliant on customer services and you have the setup you want at the price that suits your wallet

Thanks for the offer but I have no interest in DAW regardless of your consultancy fee's being free or otherwise

Huawei's doing a fine job in a specific sector by enabling some to do more for less.

The excellent support that you pay dearly for with Apple is great in a few countries but for a much bigger population set it's a mixed bag and often does not sway purchase decisions as much as you may like to think for many

Nice to hear your not reliant on your aging MBP alone

 

[ActionableMango]

I have a cheap Chinese-market-only laptop. In the marketing photos it looks very much like a nice machined MacBook. This belies the truth, which is that it's a thin aluminum shell over a mostly plastic interior. I'm okay with it because that's my expectation.

1) Looking at this specific Mi laptop I immediately see that, just like mine, there are a bunch of little screw holes on the bottom of the laptop. This tells me that Xiaomi has done the same trick--while they've styled all of the edges and contours to mimic a MacBook's premium machined unibody build, it is clearly just a common two-piece clamshell screwed-together design. Looking at teardown pictures you can see that in fact it's just a veneer metal shell for look and feel. It's a false facade to give the impression of a quality all-metal unibody build. Look at a teardown pictures of a MacBook Pro and you'll see the differences immediately all along the outer rim.

2) The other big difference is that Xiaomi has saddled this laptop with a cheap 1080p display, which at 15.6" in size will be low DPI, which in turn will be blurry or pixelated. 1080p might be okay for games and TV shows, but for productivity I find it to be a bit cramped. In comparison the MBP is 2880x1800. The little 13" MacBook Pro, at 2560x1600, has twice as many pixels as this Mi Pro. This Xiaomi "Pro" screen doesn't hold up to the non-Pro MacBooks, which are 1440p. Heck, even my $290 Chinese-market laptop has a 2736x1824 screen--so at best this Mi's screen doesn't hold a candle to the laptops it is supposedly blowing away, and at worst it is just embarrassing. And the screen is very important, at least to me, because that's what you'll be looking at all the time.

Those two things are just what I can tell from the pictures and marketing info. I'm sure more would be obvious in person. Be assured that for them to hit that price point, they almost certainly have compromised in many other places as well.

I'm not saying that any of this is unacceptable. After all, I bought cheap Chinese-market no-US-support laptop myself. I just want to set expectations that while this might be a decent laptop for the money, a lot of the effort is for keeping up the appearance of premium quality. If you actually expect it to be the same, you will be disappointed.

Also, that screen is shockingly low-res for its size on a "MacBook Pro killer". Considering the component price difference between 1080p and 1440p is so small, they could have had a better screen for just a few more dollars. But this is what happens when you try to save every penny you possibly can in every single component and design choice.

If my current cheap-Chinese-laptop experience goes well, I could consider something like this for a more powerful computer next year, but not anything saddled with a screen like that.

 

[SteveJUAE]

I have a cheap Chinese-market-only laptop. In the marketing photos it looks very much like a nice machined MacBook. This belies the truth, which is that it's a thin aluminum shell over a mostly plastic interior. I'm okay with it because that's my expectation.

1) Looking at this specific Mi laptop I immediately see that, just like mine, there are a bunch of little screw holes on the bottom of the laptop. This tells me that Xiaomi has done the same trick--while they've styled all of the edges and contours to mimic a MacBook's premium machined unibody build, it is clearly just a common two-piece clamshell screwed-together design. Looking at teardown pictures you can see that in fact it's just a veneer metal shell for look and feel. It's a false facade to give the impression of a quality all-metal unibody build. Look at a teardown pictures of a MacBook Pro and you'll see the differences immediately all along the outer rim.

Whilst the MBP unibody is nice the reality is it's mostly pure aesthetic/thinness driven and now has reached a new high of almost un-serviceable with gluded in parts and homoganised boards and also has a far more complex screwed in bottom plate thats more like removing a cylinder head to help with ridgity

Sure the Mi is a bit ugly by comparison on the bottom but this has made thermals far easier and if not more efficient vs hotspots compaired to the design compromises of the MBP which probably throttles more aggressively thanks to the Unibody and fans configuration

Don't get me wrong the MBP Unibody is probably the 2nd or 3rd most expensive shell option after carbon composites and magnesium on other similar premium brands but you have sacrificed many other nice design and serviceable options for the user for mainly asthetics and premium feel that appeals

The Mi may appear cheap and have lesser quality or specs in some areas but they have also given you more options in other areas and as you know this is the trade off and is actually better for those on a tight budget

MBP are more and more like expensive mechanical watches now, that need to have $500-700 spent on them every 3-5 years (ie quality dose not mean it dose not need to be serviced or repaired)

 

[ActionableMango]

Whilst the MBP unibody is nice the reality is...

Yeah, I agree with everything you've said. I just wanted to point out that the marketing and design are making it look like a premium laptop like Apple when in fact the build quality actually seems typical and IMHO the screen is subpar for Pro laptops of that size (or even smaller sizes).

I suppose my post came off really negative but I actually really like the laptop at its price point. If it gets a lot of positive reviews and Xiaomi do an updated model with an acceptable screen in the next couple of years, I could see myself buying one as an upgrade to my current Chinese-market laptop. I've tested the waters so-to-speak by buying a Chuwi LapBook 12.3 from GearBest, a Hong Kong retailer who is also selling this Mi laptop.

 

[Queen6]

Yeah, I agree with everything you've said. I just wanted to point out that the marketing and design are making it look like a premium laptop like Apple when in fact the build quality actually seems typical and IMHO the screen is subpar for Pro laptops of that size (or even smaller sizes).

I suppose my post came off really negative but I actually really like the laptop at its price point. If it gets a lot of positive reviews and Xiaomi do an updated model with an acceptable screen in the next couple of years, I could see myself buying one as an upgrade to my current Chinese-market laptop. I've tested the waters so-to-speak by buying a Chuwi LapBook 12.3 from GearBest, a Hong Kong retailer who is also selling this Mi laptop.

The Xiao Mi is several levels up on the likes of Chuwi, nor should the display be solely judged by pixel density.

Huawei is another option and a company that is expanding well past China's borders and arguably is beating Apple at it's own game with the MateBook X. Huawei will very likely be exceeding Apple in a few more cycles with the MateBook X replacing my Retina MacBook and the better notebook.

Q-6

 

[ActionableMango]

nor should the display be solely judged by pixel density.

I understand, but to be productive I need more vertical room than 1080P, so that's automatically a veto regardless of any other qualities the screen has.

The Chuwi is sub-$300, so yes I'd expect this Mi to be many levels better. But even at that price the Chuwi has a bright 2736x1824 screen with 99% sRGB color accuracy.

I did not know about that Huawei. I like it has a 1440P screen, that's the minimum I'd want. I could definitely consider that as my next laptop in a year or two. I also like that the power button is not one of the keyboard's keys.

 

[Queen6]

I understand, but to be productive I need more vertical room than 1080P, so that's automatically a veto regardless of anything other qualities the screen has.

The Chuwi is sub-$300, so yes I'd expect this Mi to be many levels better. But even at that price the Chuwi has a bright 2736x1824 screen with 99% sRGB color accuracy.

I did not know about that Huawei. I like it has a 1140P screen, that's the minimum I'd want. I could definitely consider that as my next laptop in a year or two. I also like that the power button is not one of the keyboard's keys.

MateBook X is very much a premium product and priced accordingly, 13" the 3:2 display is excellent with the additional display height very welcome in the smaller chassis. Power button also has one of Huawei's superb fingerprint sensors making biometric login very easy with no misses in my own experience.

Huawei also produce the MateBook D which is currently a 15" Duel core, this is more a business level portable with SSD & HDD storage (not merged) I would say the MB-D is a Level below the MB-X, it does have a matte display which I like, however it's not a vibrant or bright as the MB-X and similar to the Xiao Mi Pro limited to 1080p

MB-X is a very solid contender, quite literally, the spill resistant keyboard deck and the passively cooled full U series CPU being standout features. Ports are a little odd as only one charges, equally a vast improvement on Apple's single solution, which frankly just becomes inconvenient in time if your workflow requires external connectivity. MB-X keyboard is one of the best in class with decent travel for such a thin notebook, keys are well balanced with good feedback and one of the primary reasons why the MB-X replaced my rMB as Apple's keyboard current keyboards are best described as tragic.

Huawei definitely has Samsung and Apple in it's sights of which I'm all for, as strong competition only benefits the customer, both the consumer and the professional alike.

Q-6

 

[0989382]

A relative of mine got the i5/256GB Xiaomi. Apart from a fan noise (clicking) issue, it's as described and lives up to being unbelievably good for the money!

It gives every other Windows machine, bar the Surface, a run for it's money for build quality. It's hopefully going to improve the quality of mainstream HP and Dell's but I don't think anybody at Apple is sweating over it. I'd get one if I was buying a Windows laptop though!

But it's not a shred on Apple's build quality I'm afraid.