Xiaomi took the wraps off a 40-inch model of its smart TV Mi TV 2 today. The Chinese smart device brand has earned a name for selling high-spec gadgets at low price tags, and its Mi TV range is no exception. The new smart TV is priced at only RMB1,999 (US$322), and will be on sale from March 31.
As for the specs: Mi TV 2 boasts a 40-inch Sharp SDP X-Gen display with a 1920*1080 screen resolution. Running on MI UI, the product is powered by a quad-core MStar 6A908 Cortex-A9 CPU paired with a Mali0450 MP4 GPU, and 1.5GB of RAM with 8GB flash memory.
In addition, Mi TV 2 features a wide range of video content via cooperation with partners including licensed content provider GITV, video sites Youku Tudou, iQiyi, Xunlei, Huace Film & TV and PPS. Some 240,000 hours of copyrighted video content has been integrated to the platform, according to the company.
To boost sales of its smart TV devices, Xiaomi invested US$$1 billion in digital content last year. The majority of this funding has been poured into stakes in China’s leading streaming video platforms Youku Tudou and iQiyi.
The product also has an integrated entertainment center with embedded video games paired with Xiaomi gamepad, online educations contents, music, and so on.
The availability of ever-bigger and cheaper TVs has put 40-inch TV models in danger of being regarded as small screens, though 40-inch screens haven’t lost their attraction, especially for those who want a second TV in their bedroom.
Xiaomi launched a 49-inch Mi TV 2 model last May in China for the equivalent of US$640. The addition of a smaller-sized smart TV completes the Mi TV lineup.
Before the smart TV’s official launch, it was widely speculated that Xiaomi will release two models, one 55-inch 4K capable and another smaller-sized version with full HD. Although the actual products may fall short of these expectations, they are still a good for users considering the competitive price.
The development of smart TV technologies has triggered swift development of this sector. According to a report by LeTV, China’s annual sales of smart TVs exceeded 30 million sets in 2014, with a market penetration rate of nearly 70% expected to reach 85% during 2015.
LeTV, Xiaomi’s arch-rival in the smart TV sector, is planning to launch a new product on April 2nd to compete head-on with Xiaomi.
Image credit: Xiaomi
Editing by Mike Cormack (@bucketoftongues)