Mi Notebook Ultra: A Comprehensive Review
Xiaomi, a global technology leader known for its smartphones, IoT products, and home appliances, has now made a significant impact on the laptop market. The Mi Notebook Ultra, a recent addition to their laptop lineup, has generated significant buzz with its sleek design, powerful hardware, and competitive pricing. In this exclusive article, we'll explore everything related to the Mi Notebook Ultra, from its features to its performance and user experience.
Design and Build
The Mi Notebook Ultra sports a minimalistic and elegant design, featuring an all-metal body made from Series 6 Aluminium. It comes in a single color variant, Lustrous Silver, which adds to its premium look. With a thickness of just 17.9mm and a weight of 1.7kg, the laptop is both slim and lightweight, making it easy to carry around.
The build quality is impressive, with a sturdy hinge mechanism and minimal screen flex. The laptop's display has thin bezels on three sides, allowing for an immersive visual experience. The keyboard is backlit, with 1.5mm key travel and a comfortable typing experience, while the large precision touchpad supports multi-touch gestures and Windows Precision drivers.
Display
The Mi Notebook Ultra boasts a 15.6-inch 3.2K (3200x2000) resolution IPS display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, providing more vertical screen real estate compared to the conventional 16:9 aspect ratio. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, ensuring durability and resistance to scratches. The screen has a 90Hz refresh rate, which translates to smoother scrolling and an improved overall visual experience.
The display offers 100% sRGB color coverage, making it suitable for content creators and professionals who require accurate color reproduction. With a peak brightness of 300 nits, the screen is sufficiently bright for indoor use, though it might struggle a bit under direct sunlight. The viewing angles on the Mi Notebook Ultra are excellent, with minimal color shift when viewed off-axis.
Performance
The Mi Notebook Ultra is available in two configurations:
- Intel Core i5-11300H (11th Gen) with Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- Intel Core i7-11370H (11th Gen) with Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Both configurations come with 16GB DDR4 RAM running at 3200MHz and a 512GB NVMe SSD, ensuring snappy performance and quick boot times. The laptop is not designed for heavy gaming, as it lacks dedicated graphics, but the integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics can handle casual gaming and light video editing.
The 11th Gen Intel processors provide ample power for everyday tasks, multitasking, and running demanding applications. The Core i5 variant is suitable for most users, while the Core i7 option caters to those who require more processing power for tasks such as video editing or software development.
The Mi Notebook Ultra's thermal management is efficient, with dual fans and a large heat sink to dissipate heat effectively. The laptop remains relatively cool during prolonged use, and the fans are relatively quiet, ensuring a comfortable user experience.
Battery Life
The Mi Notebook Ultra comes with a 70Wh battery, which Xiaomi claims can provide up to 12 hours of battery life on a single charge. In real-world usage, users can expect around 8-10 hours of mixed usage, including web browsing, media consumption, and light productivity tasks.
The laptop also supports fast charging, with the included 65W USB-C charger capable of charging the battery from 0% to 50% in just 30 minutes. This feature is particularly useful for users who require a quick top-up before heading out or during a short break.
Connectivity and Ports
The Mi Notebook Ultra offers a good selection of ports, including:
- 1 x USB-C (with Power Delivery and DisplayPort support)
- 1 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1
- 1 x USB-A 2.0
- 1 x HDMI 1.4
- 1 x 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack
- 1 x SD card reader
For wireless connectivity, the laptop features Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1, ensuring fast internet speeds and reliable connections with peripherals.
Software
The Mi Notebook Ultra runs on Windows 10 Home out of the box, with a free upgrade to Windows 11 when available. Xiaomi has kept the software experience clean, with minimal bloatware and pre-installed apps, which is a welcome change compared to some other laptop manufacturers.
Conclusion
The Mi Notebook Ultra is an impressive offering from Xiaomi, providing a sleek design, powerful performance, and a great display at a competitive price point. While it may not be the best choice for gamers or users who require dedicated graphics, it caters well to professionals, content creators, and users seeking a premium laptop experience without breaking the bank.
