The Xiaomi Mi NoteBook Ultra offers all-round upgrades from its predecessor and covers all aspects of the laptop. First impressions –
The Mi Notebook Ultra is a mammoth upgrade. Not just in the specs, but the overall footprint too. Xiaomi has made some interesting additions to the lineup that was introduced last year in India, and based on the past four days of usage, it seems to hold a lot of promise as a capable daily driver that feels both premium and durable. Here’s my first impressions — The Mi Notebook Ultra is actually a regular 15.6-inch laptop, but the first thing you’ll notice is the 16:10 aspect ratio that makes the panel slightly taller than usual, and increasing the viewable area significantly. As a result, it looks much larger than other laptops with the same form factor. The panel is also the best thing about the laptop. For one, the 3.2K resolution looks fantastic on this large screen. I was a bit skeptical of the higher resolution on a smaller display, but Windows automatically scales up the UI to fit the resolution and elements doesn’t appear tiny on the screen. It’s also quite well tuned. I had the Asus ExpertBook B9 as a reference display, and the Spiderman: No Way Home trailer looked identical on both panels. Furthermore, the Mi Notebook Ultra boasts of 90Hz refresh rate, which is slightly better than the 60Hz panels you get in mainstream laptops, and it’s heartening to see a non-gaming laptop offering the high refresh rate experience. For anyone unaware, a 90Hz screen feels much more responsive and smoother than the 60Hz displays you usually get. So looking at the screen itself, it’s clear that Xiaomi wanted to max out the very experience of using the laptop. From last year’s Mi Notebook Horizon Edition, these are meaningful upgrades that brings the lineup dangerously closer to rivals entrenched in this space for long. However, the audio is in stark contrast to this large, immersive display. The 2W dual speakers at the bottom is louder than last year, but still can’t fill up a room with audio. It works fine for Zoom calls and online classes, but not if you’re watching a movie or playing a game. You’ll get no points for guessing where the Mi Notebook Ultra took its inspiration from. It’s even more apparent now than last year. The aluminum unibody, with rounded edges,16:10 aspect ratio display and gray colour finish, are a dead giveaway that this one’s a blatant copy of the MacBook aesthetics, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
