Xiaomi launches $150 air purifier in India after China glitch

One committed Xiaomi fan. Image credit: Xiaomi’s official Weibo.

Pollution is a problem in big Indian cities – sparing not even President Obama, who ran the risk of losing about 6 hours from his lifespan after he spent 3 days in India’s capital inhaling the world’s most toxic air.

And Xiaomi is in deep shit in smartphone land, after seeing a 38.4 percent drop in smartphone shipment volumes in China.

Add those two things together, and it is no surprise that the Chinese company just announced its new Mi Air Purifier 2, for about US$150, marking its first home improvement product launch in India. Never mind glitches in China.

“We are very serious about this market and we are going very very aggressive. We want to start a movement around education and action (of) air pollution in India,” global VP Hugo Barra said during the launch.

Xiaomi says the Mi Air Purifier 2 can clear up the air of a 750 square feet sized living room in about 10 minutes, and can do bedrooms even faster.

No surprise here, the #MiAirPurifier2's clean air delivery rate is much higher than the usual air purifiers as well. pic.twitter.com/NuUcgxRZtI

— Mi India (@XiaomiIndia) September 21, 2016

Xiaomi’s first gen air purifiers ran into trouble in China after it faced quality issues. A report showed that Xiaomi’s air filter failed in two categories. The first was noise, and the other in Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR). CADR is a measurement of how much clean air the purifier puts out, so it’s not the sort of thing you want your air purifier having a problem with.

Also, you will be able to get real-time updates on indoor air quality. RT if you think this feature is awesome! pic.twitter.com/sgWWG48jFr

— Mi India (@XiaomiIndia) September 21, 2016

With the new generation purifier, Xiaomi says it fits a 360 degree triple-layer filter which removes 95 percent of PM0.3 and PM2.5 particles, and adsorbs up to 90 percent of harmful chemicals. it is also quieter and more compact than its predecessor. The filter is good for 6 months, and users can monitor air quality in real time.

Sales start September 26 on the company’s website, and on Flipkart.

(Currency converted from Indian Rupees. 1USD= 67.02 INR)

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