Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is looking to take on Apple’s iPad mini in China with a copycat tablet that has a nearly identical look, and product name.
Xiaomi on Thursday introduced the Mi Pad, sporting a 7.9-inch display that is the same size as Apple’s iPad mini. The new Mi Pad will come in a total of six colors and capacities of 16 or 64 gigabytes, while carrying a starting price of 1,499 yuan, or $240 U.S., undercutting Apple.
The new tablet looks like a plastic iPad mini with a lot of color options. The tablet runs “MIUM,” a customized version of Android, that, let’s face it, looks just like iOS 7. The device has a screen resolution identical to the mini, 2,048 by 1,536.
Xiaomi founder Lei Jun told Reuters that the goal was to create hardware that “could come close to, or even surpass” Apple’s iPad.
The Mi Pad sports a Nvidia K1 mobile processor running at 2.2 gigahertz, and its storage can be expanded via MicroSD.
Xiaomi’s sales are currently largely based in China, but the company has indicated that it has plans to expand into other countries, including: India, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia.
