CES 2017: Xiaomi to launch an 'innovative' product at its CES debut in 2017

Xiaomi is all set to go international. After releasing its 4K Mi Box in the US earlier this year, the Chinese smartphone maker is all set to make its CES debut next year. Yes, Xiaomi has scheduled an event on 5 January 2017, the first day of the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas.

Hello Vegas! Will be coming to @CES with an all-new product at our global launch. Any guesses? Place your bets now! https://t.co/kjAzE0hPO1 pic.twitter.com/Rbs1Fa0cG8

— Xiaomi (@Xiaomi) November 23, 2016

Not much is known as to what product will be announced, apart from the fact that it will be an ‘innovative’ product for the global market. The tweet just hints at an ‘all new product’. The teaser tweet indicates that the product will be showcased at the CES event, but at this point of time there is no clear indication of the actual launch date of the product. The CES event schedule for the Xiaomi news conference reads, “At its CES debut, leading technology company Xiaomi will be showcasing an exciting new product that illustrates how it is pushing the boundaries of innovation. Xiaomi was founded based on the vision “innovation for everyone” — with the belief that high-quality products built with cutting-edge technology should be made widely accessible.”   While Xiaomi’s VP of international Hugo Barra has claimed that Xiaomi does plan to launch smartphones eventually in the US market, the company wants to first set up its customer service infrastructure there. Other Chinese players such as OnePlus, Huawei and more recently, LeEco have already launched its products in the US. LeEco recently announced its flagship **LeEco Le Pro 3** for the US markets starting from $399 onwards. It boasts of a 5.5-inch FullHD display with 2.5D glass and a Snapdragon 821 SoC backed by up to 6GB of RAM under the hood. The rear camera is a 16MP, f/2.0 unit with PDAF and dual-LED flash; it can also record 4K video at 30fps. The front camera is an 8MP unit with an f/2.2 aperture and is capable of recording at 1080p. According to speculations online, the surprise product could be a VR headset, a tablet or even a smartwatch. However, nothing is known for sure. Earlier this year, Xiaomi had quietly launched its Android 6.0 Marshmallow supporting 4K Mi Box for $69.