A quick visit to YouTube is enough to confirm the popularity of GoPro cameras. The rest of the industry has taken this brand as its main reference, developing similar products at much more aggressive prices. That's how we arrive at Xiaomi, which has introduced its Yi Action Camera, with specifications far superior to those of a basic GoPro Hero, and at half its price.
Recent generations of smartphones have managed to incorporate lenses with fairly high quality, but the mere existence of GoPro cameras shows us that user demands can be very different, depending on the activity. What I mean is that more than one skier uses their iPhone to take a photo of the mountain, but prefers to film the entire descent with the GoPro installed on their helmet. The GoPro format offers specific advantages, and the available accessories only enhance them. However, that doesn't change the fact that we're paying at least $130 for a five-megapixel camera, when the current state of technology is far superior. It's time for the market to start offering coherent options with advanced specifications and an accessible price.
That's when Xiaomi appears, a Chinese company loved by many and hated by certain sectors, like fans of Cupertino. Its response to GoPro is the Yi Action Camera, which features a 16-megapixel Sony Exmor R sensor capable of recording 1080p video at 60 frames per second, or 720p at 120 frames per second. These two parameters already surpass the most affordable GoPro by a wide margin, but there's more. Its storage reaches 64 gigabytes, it weighs just 72 grams, and it's submersible up to 40 meters deep. The only negative point on the Yi Action Camera is the lack of cases to protect it or connect it to different accessories. The only thing Xiaomi currently sells alongside it is the "Travel Edition", which includes a selfie stick.
Xiaomi manages to tip the scales in its favor with a very good price: 399 yuan, about $64. This is less than half the price at which a GoPro Hero is sold. Now, where's the catch? Let's say that for the moment there don't seem to be plans to sell the camera outside China. Apparently, GoPro has very serious intentions of entering the Red Giant of the East with its products, but if Xiaomi already offers a better camera at half the price, well... I think we know which option will be preferred by Chinese tourists.
