Xiaomi’s new TVs and water purifier are smart and affordable

At an event in Bangalore, India, Xiaomi took to the stage to announce the next evolution of their smart home ecosystem. It’s been a year since Xiaomi first introduced its televisions to India, and since then the company has spearheaded the expansion of the smart TV space in the country. Today, the company introduced four new models, including the top-of-the-line 65-inch Mi TV 4x.

The biggest improvement here is the size, of course, but it also shows a renewed focus on audio and picture quality. Xiaomi touched upon a new ‘reality flow chip’ that introduces frame interpolation to the panel.

Frame interpolation can be useful for smoothing out the image when watching sports, however, it is known to cause a ‘soap opera’ effect in movies. To that effect, the TV offers multiple states of tuning and will let you switch it off as well.

The company also talked about a dynamic picture profile that boosts saturation and brightness on the basis of currently playing content. On the audio side of things, the TV now has four drivers including two dedicated woofers which should hopefully improve quality with better separation between voice and other audio content.

Xiaomi’s new televisions run Android TV based on Android Pie, out of the box. The TVs are a content play for Xiaomi, and so Patchwall is still an integral part of the operating system. This time around though, the company has finally managed to get Netflix on board. We’re told that it is hard at work on bringing support for Netflix to as many older TVs as possible.

It’s also worth noting that the new TVs are among the first to offer Google’s Data Saver feature. This function will reduce video quality in order to save data, but it also allows you to receive alerts when you exceed 100MB, 500MB, or 1GB of data used.

Joining the 65-inch panel are 43 and 50-inch displays. All three pack 4K, HDR10 enabled, 10-bit panels as well as 20W speakers. The three televisions are priced at 24,999 Rs. (~$350), 29,999 Rs. (~$420) and 54,999 Rs. (~$770) for the 43, 50 and 65-inch panels. The company also introduced a new Full HD, 40-inch panel that comes in at an astonishingly low price of 17,999 Rs. (~$250).

In addition to televisions, Xiaomi is entering the white goods space in India. The first such product being launched is a smart water purifier. I like the simplistic design here, but also the focus on consumer-friendly touches like the ability to replace out filters without having to call a technician.

The three-stage purifier goes from an activated carbon filter to the RO stage and then to the post activated carbon filter stage. The 7-liter (1.8 gallon) water tank has a built-in UV light that activates every few hours to ensure that water in the chamber remains clean and potable.

This being a Xiaomi product, the purifier integrates with the Mi Home app to offer TDS (total dissolved solids) and water-flow monitoring. You can see both the input and output TDS levels, as well as deeper stats like monthly usage and more. You can, of course, purchase replacement filters directly through the app. The smart water-purifier is priced  11,999 Rs. (~$160).

There were a few other announcements as well, including a black variant of the Mi Soundbar that we’ve previously reviewed. Additionally, the Mi Band 4 is finally coming to India. In our review, we found it to be one of the best budget fitness trackers on the market. The Mi Band 4 is priced at 2,299 Rs. (~$32).

With over 100 million smartphones sold, phones are still Xiaomi’s bread and butter, but it is interesting to see the company make in-roads on pushing the smart ecosystem space in India. Largely occupied by no-name brands right now, Xiaomi is shaping up to be one of the dominant players in India’s smart home space. What do you think about Xiaomi’s new TVs and ecosystem products?