Xiaomi goes after GoPro with new action camera half the price of US rival's

Copy again?

Xiaomi goes after GoPro with new action camera half the price of US rival's

PUBLISHED : Monday, 02 March, 2015, 4:29pm
UPDATED : Monday, 02 March, 2015, 4:29pm

Adrian Wan [email protected] @adrianwan

The Yi Action Camera retails for around US$64. It is currently only available in China. Photo: Xiaomi

Xiaomi, China’s largest smartphone maker, today unveiled its line of action cameras which will retail for around half the price of market-leader GoPro's products.

The first batch of the Yi Action Camera, starting at 399 yuan (US$64), sold out in hours on multiple channels, powered by strong demand from surfers, skydivers and other action junkies.

A travel edition of the camera which comes with a selfie stick mount and costs 499 yuan also sold out in hours.

The GoPro Hero, the California-based company’s entry-level camera, sells for about US$130.

A Xiaomi representative declined to reveal how many units of the cameras were sold since the products went on sale in China at 10am this morning, but said the numbers were in the thousands. A second-round sale would likely take place in about a week, he said.

Watch: Cyclist Rémy Métailler uses a GoPro to film his incredible downhill speed run in Taxco, Mexico


Videos taken by "action" cameras, which can be mounted on helmets, boards, bikes and dog harnesses, have become very popular on the internet. GoPro dominates the market with a massive 94 per cent share, and rival Sony a far second at 3 per cent, according to an industry estimate.

The Yi Action Camera records video at 1080p (60 frames per second) and includes a 16-megapixel camera that uses Sony’s highly rated Exmor R CMOS image sensor. This compares favorably with the Hero, which records at 1080p30 or 720p60 and has a five-megapixel camera.

A cat models the Yi Action Camera's pet mount. Photo: Xiaomi

The f/2,8 aperture lens captures ultra-wide 155-degree panoramic views, slightly narrower than the Hero’s 170 degrees. It has a built in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and an app for editing and sharing video on your smartphone.

It also beats the Hero on memory, with 64GB of storage that is double the size of the Hero, weight, and battery. On par with the Hero, it can go 40 meters underwater.

Unlike the Hero however, it does not come with a plastic protective case.

If I saw that Queenstown people likes chicken rice and that the few stalls there are not enough to supply or supplying average tasting chicken rice and I decided to open a chicken rice there serving I my opinion better tasting chicken rice am I considered a copycat?

Froggy said:

If I saw that Queenstown people likes chicken rice and that the few stalls there are not enough to supply or supplying average tasting chicken rice and I decided to open a chicken rice there serving I my opinion better tasting chicken rice am I considered a copycat?

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You are right but i give u another example that applies to all other nationalities including Indian, Malaysians FTs.

You are the boss and u employ a Malaysian or Mainlander to work for u. After they have learn the ropes, they resign and open one business outlet near yours to compete with u and 'steal' your customers.

Millennium said:

You are right but i give u another example that applies to all other nationalities including Indian, Malaysians FTs.

You are the boss and u employ a Malaysian or Mainlander to work for u. After they have learn the ropes, they resign and open one business outlet near yours to compete with u and 'steal' your customers.

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An employer has to always be prepared for this. Happens to me many times here, my salesmen left and started on their own and I have to compete with them, I've not seen my business drop because I am prepared. Prepared in innovation of services, products, market coverage etc etc there are many things one can do. We don't see Apple's business declining do we?

i have had problems with my gopro wi-fi and power buttons. occasionally i have to remove the camera from the waterproof case and remove the battery to forcefully reset the camera. it's not a totally foolproof system. and the form factor can be further reduced and streamlined. it's too boxy to attach to helmet and or shoulder harness. and a rear screen or viewfinder can help with pointing and alignment. and it's not too aerodynamic for high speed movements. there's a lot of room for improvement. unfortunately, xiaomi copies all the shortcomings instead of blowing away the design.

Froggy said:

An employer has to always be prepared for this. Happens to me many times here, my salesmen left and started on their own and I have to compete with them, I've not seen my business drop because I am prepared. Prepared in innovation of services, products, market coverage etc etc there are many things one can do. We don't see Apple's business declining do we?

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Yes you are right.
Apple is the leader who always innovates and the tiongs who copy wholesale are copycats.....