Xiaomi announced today the Book S 12.4”, the company’s first-ever 2-in-1 PC running Windows 11 on ARM. The Surface Pro-like device comes with a built-in kickstand and can be used with a detachable keyboard, and it includes the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 chip found in Microsoft’s latest Surface Pro X.
There’s currently only one configuration with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, extensible with the built-in microSD card slot. The tablet comes with just one USB-C port and a headphone jack, and it supports Bluetooth 5.1 and WiFi 5. Xiaomi also promises up to 13 hours of battery life on the tablet.
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The 12.4” touchscreen on the Xiaomi Book S has a decent 2560×1600 resolution, and it supports a 100% sRGB color gamut and a 500 nits max brightness. The device also comes with dual microphones, dual 2W speakers, a 13MP rear camera, and a 5MP front camera.
The Xiaomi Book S 12.4” will be priced at an affordable €699 in Europe, though the detachable backlit keyboard and Smart Pen need to be purchased separately. The tablet runs Windows 11 in S Mode, which means it can only run apps from the Microsoft Store by default. However, customers can permanently disable S mode at any time.
Xiaomi’s first Windows 11 on ARM tablet doesn’t have the latest and greatest specs, and it also doesn’t offer cellular connectivity. However, it’s already cheaper than Microsoft’s latest Surface Pro X, which was refreshed almost 2 years ago.
If Xiaomi gained a nice foothold in the smartphone market in recent years, the company seems to be doing a decent job at competing with the more established PC manufacturers that released Windows on ARM PCs so far. It’s not clear yet when the Xiaomi Book S 12.4” will be available in the US, but it’s already available for pre-order in select European markets.