The best Xiaomi smart home devices you can buy right now
Way back in 2018, Xiaomi announced that it was bringing its smart home tech to the western world, when it revealed that three devices would be landing at international stores – the Mi Bedside Lamp, the Mi LED Smart Bulb and the Mi Smart Plug.
Those devices, and a few new additions, are now available through Xiaomi’s dedicated Amazon store front, plus the company’s dedicated US store.
With Alexa and Google Assistant in the mix, it’s clear that Xiaomi has plans to be a major smart home player outside of China.
However, you’d be a fool to think that Xiaomi is a newcomer to the smart home party. A damned fool. Over in China there’s an absolute mountain of connected Xiaomi gadgetry on sale.
And by mountain, we mean mountain: there are more than 50 security cameras, five smart fridge models, four smart speakers, a couple of connected washing machines, 20 robot vacuum cleaners… you get the idea.
Xiaomi has even teamed up with big western names – Philips and Honeywell to name a few – for co-branded smart home devices.
And its former subsidiaries and big name brands it is involved with – think Roborock and Yeelight – all play nicely within the Xiaomi Mi Home ecosystem, as well
Buying Xiaomi tech direct from China
The good news is that, if you can’t find what you want from your local Xiaomi storefront, you can order them directly from China, using dedicated retailers like Gearbest, who make it easy to import stuff, with local currencies, worldwide shipping costs and delivery times all clearly stated.
Now, there are a couple of caveats here. Often the instruction manuals in the box will be in Chinese and you’ll also have to do a bit of faffing in the Mi app to get things up and running.
The flip side to that is saving a ton of money. Xiaomi products are ever increasing in quality, and devices are often less than half the price of – and better performing than – their bigger name rivals.
The Xiaomi Mi Home app
The Mi Home app is a strange and curious beast. When signing in, you have to select your region. And what you choose here really impacts on what devices you can sync with the app. Our advice – choose ‘Mainland China’ here and any device you buy should be available for selection when you attempt to add a device to the mix.
You could play it safe here and choose ‘Europe’ or ‘US’, and be guaranteed a 100% English language experience… but where’s the fun in that? The chances are that you’ll also struggle to find your newly imported Xiaomi device listed for addition.
If you take our advice and go with ‘Mainland China’ you might find the odd screen or menu in Chinese but, on the whole (with the English version of the Mi Home app, at least), you shouldn’t have too many issues.
Like any good smart home ecosystem, the app also lets you set rules and routines, although getting stuff to work outside of the Mi platform (even if Alexa compatibility is stated) is often more hassle than it’s worth.
Anyways, enough build up – let’s get onto the main event. Here’s our pick of the best Xiaomi smart home devices to buy now…
Xiaomi Mi Home Security Camera
£33.99, Amazon
This is the version of the Mi Home camera that’s been made available to westerners. There are heavier spec’d versions (more than 20 of them, as we mentioned above) on sale but, for simplicity and for an absolute bargain, look no further than this sub-£35 security cam.
Boasting Full HD recording, a 130° ultra-wide angle lens, a 10m infrared range, night vision, intelligent detection and two-way voice communication, it really is a heck of a lot of bang for your buck.
Yeelight WiFi LED Bulb
£24.95, Amazon
In collaboration with Yi Technology, Xiaomi’s Philips Hue rival is officially available outside of China now and is available for E27 or E26 sockets.
With a colour temperature range of 1700K to 6500K, these lights – like Lifx – don’t require a separate hub and can be controlled using Alexa and Google Assistant. There’s a dedicated Yeelight app for controls, although they work just fine in the Mi Home app too.
Mi 360° Camera
$43, Amazon
Another budget security camera from the company, the Mi 360° Camera has motorised pan and tilt, so that you can adjust where it’s looking. As the name suggests, this camera lets you take in a full 360-degree view of a room, so you can take a look around your home when you’re not in, and know that you won’t miss any of the action.
This camera is a little basic in operation, and motion detection isn’t always great, but think of this as more of an option for monitoring rather than full security, and it makes sense. Video can be recorded offline, provided you provide your own microSD card slot.
There are two versions of this camera, one with a 1080p resolution and a second one with a higher 2K resolution.
Xiaomi Mi Smart Home Hub
$59.99, Gearbest
You’ll need this smart home hub in order to control the vast array of Xiaomi smart home sensors. It plugs straight into the mains (you’ll need an adapter), and doesn’t need to be connected via Ethernet, so is about as hassle free a hub as you could hope for.
It also works with HomeKit, so you can control your devices with the Home app or Siri. Unlike the previous version, this one is available in the UK/EU/US apps, so you’ll find it much easier to use.
Xiaomi Roborock S7
£399.99, Amazon
Roborock is a Xiaomi-backed company. While it now has its own app, its robots can still be added and controlled through the Xiaomi app, including the flagship Roborock S7. Not only a brilliant vacuum cleaner, this model has a sonic mop that uses similar technology to your toothbrush to vibrant a cleaning pad.
Guide: Roborock robot vacuum cleaners compared
It cleans brilliantly, both sucking up dirt and scrubbing away dirty stains on hard floors. It’s not just Roborock’s best vacuum cleaner, it’s the best robot vacuum cleaner you can buy.
Roborock’s most inexpensive smart robot vacuum is anything but cheap, however, offering unmatched value with a performance that belies its price tag.
For those who just want the best automated clean without any navigation faff, there’s simply nothing at this price point that comes close. If you just want more basic vacuuming, then check out the company’s cheaper models.
Mi Smart Air Fryer 3.5L
$69.99, Amazon
If you haven’t used an air fryer yet, you should. They cook faster than an oven and give you crispy results all with very little oil. Once you’ve started using one, you’ll never look back. The Mi Smart Air Fryer 3.5L is one of the cheapest models available, but it comes with smart features.
Although you can use the dial on the front, the app lets you select the programme you want (fries, fish and more), plus it has a whole bunch of additional recipes that you can work your way through.
If you prefer to use your voice, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant support let you start and stop the fryer.
Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier 3H
$249.99, Amazon
Almost inaudible, the Xiaomi purifier works in spaces up to 45 square metres. There’s an OLED display that shows the current air quality reading, with Xiaomi showing a PM2.5 concentration scale for particulate matter, along with both temperature and humidity readings.
It has a triple layer 360-degree filter, with a PET pre-filter, an EPA filter and an activated carbon filter, and its makers state it can clean 500 cubic metres in an hour. It also features a laser particle sensor that’s capable of spotting particles as small as 0.3 microns in diameter.
Smartmi Wireless Rechargeable Standing Floor Fan
$159.99, Gearbest
You know what it’s like in summer, you get hot but can’t quite get your fan where you need it.
You don’t have to worry with the Smartmi Wireless Rechargeable Standing Floor Fan, which has a 2800mAh battery, giving you 20 hours of cordless fan use.
Of course, it’s a smart product, too, so you can control it through the app and use voice commands to turn it on and off.
Aqara Smart Home Starter Kit
From $69.99, Amazon
Aqara is a spin off of the Mi brand for the US market. Self-owned, but under the Xiaomi company Lumi Technology, Aqara recently started selling its excellent collection of smart home sensors and gadgets through Amazon.
A Zigbee-powered system, Aqara relies on a central hub that works with Alexa, HomeKit and Google Assistant, and can expose all of Aqara’s battery-powered sensors and smart gadgets (up to 32 per hub) to your voice-controlled smart home system of choice.
The hardware on the other hand is top notch and follows Xiaomi’s ethos of selling devices with top-of-the-line specs and hardware for rock bottom prices. Simple and sturdy, all white and nicely made, Aqara’s sensors and switches aren’t showy devices, they’re designed to blend in while still being functional, and by and large they are simple to set up and install.
Check out our comprehensive Aqara smart home review for more information.
