Xiaomi Yi action camera

The first thing my Spanish mother-in-law asked me when she saw the Xiaomi Yi was, "Is that a toy camera?" With its lime-and-aqua-marine color scheme, it's not hard to see why she might think that. But no, it is not. In fact, Xiaomi's Yi camera raised a few eyebrows when it was announced recently. Here was yet another action camera that looked suspiciously like a GoPro -- but, at the equivalent of about $65, it was almost half the price of the market-leader's cheapest offering (the $130 Hero edition), with a spec-sheet that bested it on many key features. Importantly (perhaps more so for GoPro), the Yi camera has the backing of Xiaomi, a brand that's gaining traction in China. A market everyone wants a slice of. But does it really best a GoPro?


The first issue for those in the US interested in this camera will be getting hold of one. Xiaomi isn't actively selling, or promoting, it in the states. When we asked the company for a test unit, it declined. Thankfully, some independent retailers are stepping in and making the camera available to US buyers such as Gear Best, which provided the loan camera for this comparison (price at time of writing: $94).

It's also worth mentioning that the Yi camera was reported to be waterproof to 40 meters, like the GoPro Hero is. This is not the case. You need to buy a separate dive housing for that (unlike the Hero, which has one built in). The Yi cam was also initially reported to have 64GB of storage. To clarify, it can read SD cards of that capacity (up to 128GB in fact, according to the official website), but you still need to provide one. The Yi camera is also technically made for Xiaomi under license from the (not-at-all-confusingly named) separate company, Xiaoyi.

In terms of hardware, toyish looks aside, the Yi camera does bear more than a passing resemblance to a GoPro Silver or Black (without the housing). Not just the matchbox-like body, but the button placement too (shutter on top, power on the front). Unlike a GoPro, though, there's no LCD display. You have to rely on LEDs, or the mobile app to know what mode the camera is in, or any other feedback (battery level, SD card capacity, et cetera).

Despite all the similarities, the Yi camera doesn't fit any GoPro accessories. I was a bit surprised; I expected it to conveniently slip into the GoPro dive housing, or the frame mount or... well any accessory. But it doesn't. The lens isn't positioned high enough, and the body is just a touch bigger, meaning there's zero compatibility with GoPro's extensive catalog of accessories. This includes GoPro's three-pronged connector, and its shoe clip. The Yi cam just has a regular tripod connection.



One fairly big annoyance with the Yi camera is that until you shell out on some accessories, you have to take special care of the naked lens. The GoPro Hero can be thrown in any bag/backpack without concern. The Yi camera's exposed glass made me nervous about putting it pretty much anywhere, including a few times when I set it down the wrong way with the lens directly on the table. I ended up carrying it in my hand for the most part, which soon gets frustrating. Another minor gripe is that the battery/port covers are very losable. The GoPro Hero's all-built-in design also makes it a bit chunkier (and limits you to one battery charge per outing), but you'll come back with as much camera as you went out with. A plus for the Yi is that you can swap the batteries, but you'll need to buy more. If you can find 'em.

What you really want to know is, though, is this thing any good? The answer is, "It's not bad." In fact, in some of my tests, it definitely gave the GoPro Hero a run for its money. I took both cameras out and shot several things side by side. This includes time-lapse videos, standard photos and, of course, regular video. In photo mode, the Yi has more pronounced colors and sometimes details are sharper. This, unsurprisingly, translates up into time-lapse videos, too -- which are, of course, just a series of photos. The examples below are shot with the Yi cam set to five-megapixel mode to be more comparable to the GoPro (which only shoots five-megapixel photos).