Towards the end of the Redmi Note 10 event, Xiaomi teased the launch of the Redmi TV in India. The tagline of the teaser reads, “The XL Experience” hinting that we could see a large screen TV from Redmi. In light of the teaser, let’s break down everything we know about Redmi TVs available internationally and whether it could be the Redmi Max that’ll launch in India.
https://twitter.com/eshwar_nc/status/1367386948097110020?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
At the beginning of February, known leaker Mukul Sharma said that the Redmi TV would launch in India in March. The same launch window (March 2021) has been confirmed by Xiaomi India Category Lead for Smart TVs, Eshwar Nilakantan. In an interview with the Financial Express, Eshwar says the launch will happen this month (March). This confirms the time frame, but we are left in the dark about the price and availability.
When it comes to the price, the Redmi Max 86-inch TV is priced at 7,999 yuan (Rs. 90,500 approx. directly converted). Considering this will be Redmi’s first TV in India, we speculate that the brand may not want to launch a TV priced close to Rs 1,00,000. So even though the tag line says “XL Experience” it is possible we could see a 65-inch TV from Redmi.
Since the Redmi Max is the most recently launched TV and comes in an 86-inch screen size, all logic points towards the teaser being about the Redmi Max. However, if we go back to the information shared by Mukul Sharma at the beginning of February he says that Redmi could launch a 55 or even 65-inch TV.
A 65-inch Redmi TV fits the bill for an “XL” TV. While Xiaomi has a 65-inch TV in the market in the form of the Mi TV 4X, it has been "unavailable" for some time. Also, the Mi TV 4X launched way back in 2019 and is due for a refresh. So, it makes sense that Xiaomi brings a 65-inch Redmi TV at an affordable price.
Xiaomi has already set the bar quite high with the Mi QLED TV 4K (review) offering customers QLED backlighting, support for Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, HDR 10 and HDR 10+. The TV also comes with HDMI 2.1 support for the new-gen gaming consoles – the PS5 (review) and Xbox Series X (review). So it only makes sense that the upcoming Redmi TV offers similar specifications or offer a significant price advantage for those looking for a large screen TV for entertainment and aren't necessarily gamers. Needless to say, we think the TV will run on Xiaomi’s PatchWall UI which offers users a unique smart TV experience in a sea of homogenous Android TVs.
All of this is, of course, speculation, and we will only know the model number, screen size and specifications of the Redmi TV when it officially launches.