Xiaomi launches its first Google Assistant-powered smart speaker w/ $50 price

Damien Wilde | Sep 30 2020 - 4:21 am PT

Xiaomi Mi Smart Speaker powered by Google Assistant

Xiaomi has now quietly launched the Mi Smart Smart Speaker in India — its first-ever Google Assistant-powered smart speaker.

The Chinese firm has released a number of smart home add-ons that all play relatively nicely with the Google Assistant ecosystem but this proves to be a long-overdue addition to their product lineup. The Mi Smart Speaker has taken a number of design cues from other established home speakers already on the market.

For starters, it looks eerily similar to numerous Bose Home Speakers but comes in at way below the asking price of the premium audio firm’s offerings. It measures in at 131 x 104 x 151mm and weighs 853g, which puts it in the middle of the pack when it comes to size and weight.

At the top, there are four physical buttons for the volume, play/pause, and a microphone toggle. There is an Alexa-inspired ring light that activates when using Google activation keywords too. As for the speaker itself, it includes a 12W speaker and there are 2 far-field microphones for better audio detection when keywords are used.

There is support for 2.4 and 5GHz Wi-Fi, while only Bluetooth 4.2 is supported. You can pair the Xiaomi Mi Smart Home speaker with another for a stereo sound experience too. As a Google Assistant speaker, you can run all of the commands that you’ve become accustomed to with rival speakers as well.

As this is a product designed specifically for the Indian market, the Xiaomi Mi Smart Speaker can respond to Google Assistant commands in both English and Hindi. It has already gone on sale in India with an RRP of ₹3,999 (approx. $55). However, it is already on sale at launch for a slightly more enticing ₹3,499 (approx. $50).