Leaked packaging suggests Xiaomi is working on a 47-inch TV (update: TV chassis!)
China's Xiaomi has certainly made a name for itself in the smartphone market, but let's not forget that it has other plans as well. For one, there's the Xiaomi Box, which is the company's first foray into the video content world. And according to the above leak, the next step from there appears to be a 47-inch 1080p TV, which is simply branded as "Xiaomi TV" in Chinese (model number L47M1-AA). Like the Xiaomi Box, this TV will apparently feature built-in WiFi and "MiLink" (Airplay, DLNA plus Miracast), as well as audio certification from Dolby and DTS. More after the break.
Update: Well well well, this guy sure has some good contacts. He's now posted a couple of alleged photos of the TV chassis, which has a massive Xiaomi logo bang in the middle. We've got one of the shots after the break.
Can't say we saw this coming, but it makes sense if this is a collaboration between Xiaomi and Foxconn: the two are already tight thanks to their phone assembly deal, and the latter certainly knows which country to look at to take advantage of its investment in Sharp. For instance, the recently launched LeTV X60 and the RadioShack RS60-V1 since January were both heavily influenced by Foxconn, and both TVs are only available in China.
Judging by how Xiaomi had launched at least one of the flagship phones at a loss initially, we wouldn't be surprised if this TV will also be sold at a very attractive price. After all, Xiaomi's strategy is to get as many people on board its ecosystem as possible, and then the money would come right back from the software and accessories. In fact, even the Xiaomi Box is currently positioned as an accessory for the phones, but it'll certainly be more than that when it comes in the form of a TV.
Of course, this is all assuming that the above leak is real to begin with. But fret not, as we've been informed that Xiaomi's already asked some folks on Sina Weibo to take down the offending image, so there you go. For those who are interested, this spy shot's leakster reckons the TV will be announced at Xiaomi's annual event on August 16th.
