Xiaomi may introduce notebooks in 2016; plans to take on Apple's Macbooks

Xiaomi is planning to launch a notebook in 2016 according to a report in Digitimes. The report states that Xiaomi is going to develop the notebook with ODM partners Inventec and Foxconn Electronics.According to sources who spoke to Digitimes, Xiaomi plans to use the same model it used with smartphones for its upcoming notebooks, i.e. launching notebooks with a high price to performance ratio. Sources from the supply chain have stated that the notebook's mass production schedule has not yet been confirmed.Xiaomi will most likely go with a 15-inch notebook size and will bundle the laptops with Linux OS. Approximate price points of the notebook are speculated to be in the CNY 2,999 region which roughly translates to Rs 31,500.If you have followed Xiaomi since its entry into India, there were speculations of it releasing a laptop in the past as well.GizmoChina had leaked images of what appeared to be a Xiaomi laptop along with the specifications. Calling it the Xiaomi Notebook, on first glance one couldn't help but notice the uncanny resemblance to the Apple MacBook Air. In terms of specs, this alleged laptop from Xiaomi was to sport a 15-inch full HD display , would be powered by an Intel Core i7-4500U chip. It would come with two 8GB RAM modules, taking the total RAM to 16GB. The price point of this laptop was expected to be under $499 which is approximately Rs 32,000.Will this be the notebook that Xiaomi is planning with its partners? Only time would tell.