Xiaomi launches GoPro-like action camera with super-low price tag

By Trevor Mogg March 3, 2015

xiaomi launches gopro like action camera with super low price tag yi — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Since taking the Chinese smartphone market by storm, Beijing-based Xiaomi has been steadily rolling out a variety of other tech goodies, among them the Mi Band fitness tracker and Mi Headphones.

However, the latest addition to its growing range of products is surely the most intriguing yet – a tasty-looking action camera with specs that could give GoPro’s entry-level Hero device a run for its money. And what’s more, at just 399RMB ($64), it’s half the price of its rival.

Xiaomi’s intriguing Yi Camera incorporates a 16-megapixel Sony image sensor and can record 1080p video at 60fps. The GoPro Hero, on the other hand, shoots 5-megapixel images and records 1080p video at 30fps, or 720p video at 60fps.

Both cameras come with built-in Wi-Fi for transferring files, and can be controlled using their respective companion apps. They’re also waterproof to the same depth (40 meters). However, at 72g, the Yi is considerably lighter than the Hero, which tips the scales at 111g. Additionally, Yi’s 64GB of onboard storage is twice that of the Hero.

Extras include mounts for attaching the camera to your unsuspecting cat, or to your bicycle helmet if your pet rumbles you and refuses to comply.

On paper, Xiaomi’s first ever action camera certainly looks like an attractive piece of kit, though we’d have to put it through its paces to see how it matches up to the Hero in the field.

For now, however, the Yi action cam is available only in China, but with Xiaomi gearing up to launch an online store in the U.S., that could certainly change.

While the company won’t be selling smartphones in its new Web-based store, it will be selling other items such as its fitness tracker and headphones, so there’s a fair chance GoPro will have some serious competition to contend with before too long.

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Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

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