Xiaomi has announced two new smart speakers today. The smart speakers – the Xiao Ai Speaker Universal Remote Edition and Xiao Ai Speaker Play are powered by its Xiao Ai assistant.
Xiao Ai Speaker Universal Remote Edition
The smart speaker comes in black with a rectangular prism design. On the top are the controls which include the play/pause button, volume control buttons and the microphone mute button. It weighs 468 grams and is 140 millimeters tall.
The smart speaker’s main function is its ability to control several smart home products. Xiaomi says it can control up to 5000 different smart home products. It is able to connect to these products either via Wi-Fi, Infrared, and Bluetooth. For example, it can connect to the Mijia Bluetooth Temperature and Humidity sensor and you can ask the speaker what the temperature or humidity is and it will get the readings from the sensor. That way, you don’t have to get up to check the readings on the sensor or open the Mijia app to view the readings.
Xiaomi says the Bluetooth gateway feature will be available via an OTA update in August.
The speaker has a 360° far-field microphone that is able to pick up your voice commands from any corner of the room. it also has 4 built-in infrared sensors that allow it to control appliances as far as 10 meters away.
There are lots of other features for all members of the family. It has access to several internet radio stations, a database of stories and rhymes for kids, and music streaming services.
The speaker connects via 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.1. It charges via a Micro USB port and ships with a 5V/2A charger. It is priced at ¥199 (~$29) and is available for pre-order on the Youpin store and will go on sale tomorrow.
Xiaomi Xiao Ai Speaker Play
This speaker has the same rectangular prism design but comes in white. It can also control several smart products from different brands including Phillips and AUX but connects only via Wi-Fi.
Just like the Universal Remote Edition, the Xiao Ai Speaker Play can stream music, read stories to kids, and stream from several internet radio stations.
It is priced at ¥169 (~$24) and will be available for purchase on June 18 on Mi.com.
