Xiaomi has mentioned numerous times in the past that it is not a smartphone company, but a “technology company.” Well, Xiaomi’s latest product, the Mi Pen, is definitely…an interesting piece of technology. For one, it doesn’t seem like a product that the company would release.
The Xiaomi Mi Pen is launched under the company’s Mijia brand, which literally translates to “Mi Home.” Back when Xiaomi introduced it’s own smart rice cooker (the first product carrying the Mijia branding), the company mentioned that Mijia products are essentially items produced under the “Mi Ecosystem.”
As the Mi Pen carries the Mijia branding, one would guess that it’s some sort of smart pen, which would be wrong. Surprisingly enough, it’s…just a regular pen without any smart functionalities. The Mi Pen is, however, a very affordable pen, especially when compared to similar Swiss PREMEC pens.
Retailing at only 19 Chinese yuan (about $3), it is a refillable pen that is said to use Swiss Premec refills, which have long lasting mikuni ink as their bases. What this means is that the pen’s ink refills have a much longer shelf life compared to your standard pen, the ink is nicer, doesn’t fade quickly and writing will be much more comfortable.
Twisting the 9.5mm barrel will reveal the pen’s 0.5mm tungsten ball tip, which makes the Mi Pen a ballpoint pen. Not surprisingly, the Mi Pen is well built and comes in two standard colors, those being black and white. Nothing too surprising here.
While the pen does look very nice and I can’t wait to give it a try (especially since it uses Swiss PREMEC refills), the Mijia branding probably means it won’t leave China anytime soon, and I do wonder whether it can challenge well established gel pens like the Pentel Energel or Pilot G2.
What do you guys think about Xiaomi launching stationary products? Is the Mi Pen the most significant Xiaomi product in their history? Can the Mi Notebook possibly hope to live up to the standards of the Mi Pen? Tell us in the comments.