Xiaomi RedmiBook 13 [i5 10210U 8/512GB/MX250]

Xiaomi MacBook Air

Xiaomi somehow quietly broke into the laptop market and began to muddy the waters, as it was with smartphones. Previously, inexpensive ultrabooks with a decent filling and a metal case were produced only by Acer, and the rest of the models cost from a thousand dollars, showing off their imaginary premium. And now in our hands lies a stylish aluminium baby weighing just over a kilogram (1.23 kg) and only 18 mm thick, which is eerily similar to the recent MacBook Air. It has a similar configuration, almost identical hardware, and the price tag is almost half that. Surprised? We, too. Therefore, let's figure out what is really cool in it, and what we saved on.

Premium aluminium chassis in a $700 ultrabook

Unlike its low-cost smartphones, RedmiBook 13 looks solid in every way and is on par with the best mid-range models. It is small, performant, with thin bezels around the display, performant hardware and real 10-11 hours of operation from a single charge. Pleasantly surprised by the case design and build quality. The case does not play anywhere, the lid opens freely with one hand, the silvery aluminium case looks expensive, the thin black frames around the display say hello to the designers from Cupertino, and the small “Redmi” and “Designed by Xiaomi” logos hint that the Chinese are no longer shy about their creations. Taking into account the price, the RedmiBook 13 has a complete order with hardware: a tenth-generation quad-core Core i5, 8 GB of RAM, a 512 GB SSD and an NVIDIA GeForce MX250 graphics card will confidently cope with any office tasks, but will also let you play after work in not too demanding modern toys like Hades, FIFA 21 and Fortnite.

Without USB C and webcam

I think on this we can again agree that "Xiaomi top for your money." But since we started comparing with the MacBook Air, let's finish them. And in this thousand little things that are not always visible from previews, RedmiBook 13 is far behind. The cooling system here is very loud, as if it is not a compact ultrabook, but a huge gaming laptop. Xiaomi forums scold the software part and promise to fix it. The RedmiBook 13 also lacks a webcam and USB C ports with Power Delivery. Although, fast charging is available. Well, a 13-inch screen. By the standards of its price, it is quite good, but if you put the RedmiBook 13 next to the Air, then the difference in colour reproduction, contrast and brightness margin will be noticeable. All in all, Redmi is a great option for those who want a MacBook Air at an attractive price without the extra bells and whistles.