Xiaomi's action cam bests a GoPro Hero for half the price
Xiaomi has unleashed a 399 CNY ($64) action cam onto unsuspecting cats in China, but will it join the Mi band in the US? The Yi Camera actually trumps the specs of GoPro's entry-level camera with 1080P, 60fps video and up to 64GB of memory at about half the price (the $130 Hero has 1080/30p video and 32GB max storage). It also weighs significantly less at 72g, has a bigger battery and can go the same 40m (130 feet. Update: separate case required) underwater. To be fair, unlike the Hero, it doesn't come with a housing, mounts or the impeccable rep. But Xiaomi is offering a bunch of extra accessories, including a helmet mount and, yes, a cat harness.
Other specs include built-in WiFi for remote smartphone triggering, 16-megapixel stills, a backside-illuminated Sony sensor, a 155-degree wide-angle lens, 3D noise reduction and digital image stabilization. For now, the Yi camera is only available in China, but Xiaomi will soon launch its Mi.com e-commerce site in the US later in the year. It won't sell phones there just yet, but it will sell accessories like the Mi Band and power banks. We hope that the Yi camera will also be available to give the GoPro some (more) competition, but we'll have to wait to find out.
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