We know that Xiaomi has plans to launch the first Mi Home store in Sub-Saharan Africa here in Kenya. The company had hinted at a Q1 2019 launch, but we were shortchanged and told that the brick-and-mortar store will be opened in May 2019.
With a third of the month already gone, Xiaomi Kenya now says the Mi Home store will be opened in June 2019. This time, they even have a specific date – Saturday 8th.
June 8th!
Welcome home… 😎#xiaomi
— Xiaomi Kenya (@Xiaomi_Kenya) May 7, 2019
Given how often these dates have changed, we can’t guarantee that this date will actually materialize. All we have to do is sit back and wait.
Xiaomi has been throwing around hints of what to expect in the Mi Home store when it goes live. We know a great deal about these products, but the company isn’t done yet. The latest to be teased is the Mi Smart Shoes, which Xiaomi says will be available for purchase as from June 8.
We are about to change the way you think about your shoes… #MiSmartShoes coming soon to our 1st Mi Home!
June 8th can you come closer… 😎 pic.twitter.com/WmbX2vvVTO
— Xiaomi Kenya (@Xiaomi_Kenya) May 11, 2019
From the photo shared by Mi Kenya, it seems the smart shoe in question here is the Mijia Smart Shoes that came out back in 2017, although there’s no way we can verify this at the moment.
If you are a fitness freak, you should relish this one. But at this point, we can’t say if the Mi Smart Shoes can do a better job tracking your activity than a smartwatch, smart band or even a smartphone, but it certainly looks so.
The lightweight Mi Smart Shoes have a rubber-made heel and ankle portion with an anti-slip rubber outsole. For the brains, the shoe depends on Intel’s 32-bit Curie module that features a 6-axis sensor, gyroscope, and accelerometer to ensure that it easily separates running from walking and climbing.
The module, which can be inserted in either shoe (the shoe needs to be shaken in order to activate the module once inserted), is also IP67 certified for dust and water resistance, meaning you have nothing to worry about if rained on.
To pair the Mi Smart Shoes to your smartphone, the Mi Fit app is needed. This app is available for download in the Google Play Store. Once installed, shoot up the app and pair your phone to the shoes via Bluetooth. From the Mi Fit app, you can view your activity for the day, week or month, depending on your personal preference.
The Mi Smart Shoes launched priced at about $60. Whether Xiaomi will stick to this pricing when they arrive in Kenya is still unknown. We should find out about these smart shoes and more Mi Home-related news in the coming days.
