Audio Video News

Xiaomi, a Chinese electronics company that sells millions of smartphones in Asia, takes an interesting approach with a 60-inch 4K TV it plans to sell in China for RMB 4,999 ($786).

According to a report from engadget:

Plenty of dongles and set-top boxes can transform your old TV into a "smart" one—but what if you could do away with them entirely, and get the same features out of a TV speaker instead? That's the idea behind Xiaomi's "Mi TV Bar," anyway. To the naked eye it looks like a classic soundbar, but inside there's a MStar 6A928 processor, 2GB of DDR3 RAM and 8GB of flash storage. Once connected through the Mi Port—which also carries power—you'll gain access to MIUI TV, Xiaomi's Android-based smart TV platform.

It's designed to work in conjunction with the Mi TV 3, although you can also buy it separately and hook it up to any TV, monitor or projector. According to Xiaomi, a TV's motherboard usually accounts for 20 percent of its overall cost—and it's also a part that customers have to replace every 18 months. By taking the related components out and putting them in a separate device, Xiaomi hopes they'll be easier to upgrade and replace—meaning you, the consumer, can just focus on buying (and keeping) a stellar display. It's the same argument behind modern TV set-top boxes, although here you're also getting a beefy speaker thrown in too. It'll set you back RMB 999 ($157) on its own—for comparison, the new Apple TV costs $149 in the US, while Amazon's 4K Fire TV is up for $100.

If you’re wondering about the low price, Xiaomi was founded in 2010 by Lei Jun, who believes that “high-quality technology doesn't need to cost a fortune.” The company has “brought together smart people from Google, Kingsoft, Microsoft, Motorola, Yahoo, and other Internet and tech companies from around the world to bring that vision to life.”

For another take on the world’s factory’s influence on technology, see Ken Pohlmann’s fascinating blog ”[Your Name Here] Audio Corporation”.

Read endgadget’s full report here.

We won’t be surprised if this idea pops up in a familiar brand of TV in the future.