Xiaomi might be entering the desktop PC space

The Chinese giant appears to be gearing up to enter yet another tech niche. All of you more than likely know Xiaomi for their smartphones, and some might be aware of their laptop portfolio, but now it seems that at least a couple of Windows PCs are on their way.

The two designs were apparently among the items slated for an unveiling at the December 1 Xiaomi event. An event that is now postponed due to the passing of Jiang Zemin - the former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. As we wait for a new date to be scheduled, it seems that two PC designs were still shown off to select people a bit early.

Let's start with the more mysterious of the two. The Xiaomi Host Mini PC looks like a small form factor (SFF) design shown off in a barebones state. That is to say that the pictured system just has a 100W XM22AL5X PSU installed and nothing else. We doubt that Xiaomi will be selling it as a barebones kit, so the rest of the hardware that goes in the box is yet to be announced.

Xiaomi Host Mini PC

What we can gather from the photos includes support for what is likely low-profile, half-height up to dual slot dedicated GPUs on a Mini-ITX motherboard. We aren't quite sure how a dedicated GPU will work in conjunction with the 100W power supply, but perhaps it is not the final or only unit available in the configuration. The case also has a custom plate on the back with the windows key and "M" key combo depicted on it. Perhaps Xiaomi is planning to override the key combo in Windows, which typically minimizes all of the windows and do something custom with it? Another interesting bit is the mechanical switch mounted on the back of the Host Mini PC. We aren't sure what it does either, but the leaked Weibo photos do include an accessory package featuring a keycap for said button, so it is probably functional.

Xiaomi mini PC

On to the other system, which we know a fair bit more about. It is a mini PC in the Mac Mini of Intel NUC kind of form factor. Apparently, it will be running an MD Ryzen 7 6800H APU - a 45W chip with a Radeon 680M RDNA2 iGPU, 16GB memory and 512GB SSD. Pricing for it is rumored to be CNY 3999 or right around $570.

Source (in Chinese) | Via 1 | Via 2