China’s leading smartphone maker Xiaomi launched its first laptop, the Mi Notebook Air last Wednesday. The 12.5-inch version of the laptop goes on sale for RMB 3,499 (USD 526) on Tuesday.
The 12.5-inch Mi Notebook Air is powered by an Intel Core M3 processor. It has a 4GB RAM and 128GB ROM. It weighs 1.07kg and its hard disk is extensible. The thickest part of the laptop is 12.9mm. Xiaomi claims the laptop can work for 11.5 hours per charge.
The first batch of the laptops were snapped up by Xiaomi fans on the company’s official website in no time. No doubt the company’s advertising to some degree contributed to this.

Xiaomi said at the launch party last Wednesday that the Mi Notebook Air is thinner than a RMB 1 coin. In fact, the laptop, like most other brands, is thinner than… the diameter of a 1 RMB coin, at a thickness of 25mm.
The controversial claim has gone viral and been mocked over China’s social media networks. Here are some posts on China’s largest social media platform, Weibo:

“Have you ever seen a vehicle traveling data recorder thinner than a RMB 1 coin?”—Blackview

“Lakala mobile payment terminal is thinner than a RMB 1 coin.”–Lakala

“I’m sorry but I really can’t be thinner than a RMB 1 coin.”–Purist Audio
(Top photo screened from Mi.com)