Xiaomi launches Qin feature phone that is AI and 4G enabled

Chinese mobile manufacturing major Xiaomi has announced the launch of its latest phone – the Qin (pronounced shin).

The phone is being launched through a crowdfunding campaign and will feature a 4G antenna, a USB-C port, and an artificial intelligence (AI) interface; the phone will be available at a price of just 199 Chinese Yuan (around Rs 2,000).

According to a report by Digital Trends, the Qin comes with a 2.8-inch screen with a resolution of 320 x 240, a T9 (predictive text) keypad, 4G connectivity, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. Its design is nostalgic, similar to the old hardened Nokia handsets and, sources say, its AI capabilities will include real-time translation.

Xiaomi is making the phone available in two models – Qin 1 and Qin 1s. The former is the lower-powered model and comes with a MediaTek MT6260A chipset, 8 MB (not GB) RAM, 16 MB of storage, and one ARM7 CPU core. It will not have GPS or LTE and will be able to access only 2G networks. The phone will have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity and will run on an OS known as ‘Nucleus’.

The Qin 1s is the more powerful of the two and sports a Spreadtrum SC9820 chipset, 256 MB RAM, 512 MB of storage and two 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53 cores. It will have GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 4G connectivity and will run on an OS referred to as ‘MOCOR5.’

Xiaomi claims that both models of the Qin will have dual-SIM support and will be able to run for up to 15 days on its 1480 mAh batteries. Despite all these cool features, the main drawbacks of both models of the Qin is that they will not have either front or rear cameras and will also not have a headphone jack.

As per the report, the phone is currently only available as part of the crowdfunding campaign and there is a high possibility that it will be never be sold anywhere outside China.

The phone has, however, made news in China as the crowdfunding campaign received nearly 1 million Yuan (about Rs 1 crore) in an hour of going live, apparently passing initial funding targets set by Xiaomi.

The Qin 1 is available for just 199 Chinese Yuan, while its older sibling the Qin 1s will come up to 299 Chinese Yuan (about Rs 3,000). Xiaomi’s official website says the phone will be released on 15 September.