Smart kettle xiaomi mi smart kettle. Review of the Xiaomi Mi Smart Electric Kettle. Just a teapot or something more? Keeps you warm

Smartphones of the Chinese company Xiaomi are more famous than the products of the ecosystem " smart home" Although it contains many interesting and useful gadgets. Today we are reviewing one of them – a Xiaomi smart kettle Smart Kettle with Bluetooth control.

Characteristics:

• Claimed power: 1800 W;
• Volume: 1.5 l;
• Kettle weight: 1.24 kg;
• Package weight: 1.73 kg;
• Package dimensions (WxDxH): 25x16x26 cm;
• Triple protection: no current leakage, minimized risk of electric shock, automatic shutdown when insufficient level water;
• Maintenance required temperature till 12 o'clock;
• Temperature adjustment via app;
• The inner surface of the kettle, the lid and the temperature sensor are made of 304 stainless steel, thanks to which scale and deposits do not form, no foreign odors appear, and the surface is easy to clean.

Equipment

The kettle comes in an elegant white box, inside which you will find the kettle itself, a stand and instructions (in Chinese, so it is unlikely to help you). To protect the device, the box contains foam inserts.

Design

As for the design of the kettle, it is minimalistic, but at the same time quite nice. Xiaomi Smart Kettle is made of high quality matte plastic, internal elements, as mentioned above, are made of stainless steel.

There is a mechanical button on the top of the handle that allows you to open the kettle lid by 45°. If you need to open the lid completely (up to 90°), you will have to do it manually.

The stand has a niche where you can store excess wire.

Overall, the kettle is quite well made and seems like it will last a long time.

Smart features

First of all, you can use the device as regular teapot, simply by pressing the first touch button located on the bottom of the handle. Looking ahead, let's say that the second button is designed to maintain the temperature.

In order to use the “smart” functions of the kettle, you must first install the Mi Home application (if you have not already installed it, since the application is used to control all Xiaomi smart home devices) and connect the device to it via Bluetooth.

Even though the app is in Chinese, we had no problems connecting the phone to the device. The kettle module itself is English-language.

The main “smart” feature is the ability to maintain the temperature at a given level for up to 12 hours. In the application, you can choose, for example, that you want to keep the water temperature at 80 degrees for 1 to 12 hours. To set the time, you need to use the “Keep warm time” slider, then you need to set the temperature (minimum 40 °C, maximum 90 °C).

The “Warm up the water” and “Cool down the boiled water” buttons are responsible for heating and cooling, respectively. In the second case, the “Do not boil again” switch is available.

As for the boiling time itself, Xiaomi Smart Kettle brought one liter of water at a temperature of 20 °C to a boil in 4 minutes 2 seconds, and one and a half liters in 5 minutes 42 seconds.

Conclusion

Xiaomi Mi Kettle copes with all the stated functions and has good thermal insulation. In addition, we liked the design and build quality.

As always, the Mi Home application in Chinese adds a fly in the ointment. We also think the device should have more smart features, such as the ability to turn the kettle on/off using your phone. In addition, in our opinion, a Wifi connection would be more suitable for controlling the kettle from a distance.

In the end, it’s up to you to decide whether it’s worth buying a kettle with a nice design, high-quality assembly and claimed smart functions for 3,300 rubles.

Greetings, dear readers.

The fashion for smart home technologies is not slowing down. Chandeliers, clocks, scales – the list goes on. The Xiaomi company (more often pronounced in Chinese as Xiaomi) is also developing and expanding its “smart” ecosystem, and today the hero of our review is an electric kettle with control functions via mobile devices.

About company

Xiaomi was founded by businessman Lei Jun along with seven other partners on April 6, 2010. At the very beginning of its journey, the company was developing and releasing MIUI, a user interface for the Android OS with its own services. Then the release began mobile phones, followed by TVs, tablets and much more. Today it is a huge company that has its own crowdfunding platform, which allows it to produce a huge variety of products.

Packaging and accessories

Two sides of the packaging contain an image of the kettle itself. On the right, at the bottom, there are two logos - the manufacturer and MI Home (also known as the logo of the sub-brand MiJia). The left side houses two stickers - one indicates the model and color; on the other, from the useful, they placed the characteristics and equipment.

Characteristics:
- Volume: 1.5 l;
- Power: 1800 W;
- Case material: metal/plastic (double walls);
- Bulb material: steel 06Cr19Ni10;
- Type heating element: closed spiral;
- Control: 2 touch buttons, software Smart Home;
- Cord length: 75 cm;
- Filter: no;
- Weight: 1240 g;
- Protection: lid lock, switch-on lock without water;
- Cord compartment: There is;
- Wireless interfaces: Bluetooth 4.0 BLE*;
- Dimensions (WxHxD): 20.4x23.5x14.5 cm;
- Additional features: maintaining temperature using Smart apps Home** (Android, iOS).
* Bluetooth LE devices support connection to phones/tablets with a BLE module, as well as work with BLE smart home gateways.
** Not entirely true, since Smart Home is the general name of the smart home ecosystem, and the application is Mi Home.

Appearance

The handle is comfortable, long (about ¾ of the height of the kettle). In its upper part there is the usual button for opening the lid with a fairly large stroke.

Let's return to the lid. Full opening occurs at an angle of about 80°, but there is one subtlety - when you press the button, the lid opens only 45°. If you need more, then only manually. Quite unusual, although I dare to assume that the logic is this: 45° is enough to fill the flask, and the full one will only be used for its maintenance, which is infrequent. What was also surprising was the diameter of the neck - this is, no less, as much as 130 mm! There will obviously be no problems with access to the internal cavity of the flask.

At the top of the kettle, the plastic body merges into a steel “rim” 20 mm high. This is part of the flask; it also forms a small spout for water. There is no scale filter.

On the bottom of the case there is an inscription: “Do not immerse in water,” however, only in Chinese and English languages. The center has a contact group manufactured by the long-established company Strix (England). There are also 2 stickers - one factory, one from our importers.

On the stand there is the second part of the contact group (also Strix). On the bottom there is the same inscription as on the bottom of the kettle: “Do not immerse in water”, a sticker with information in Russian, a special cavity for the power cable, and for better stability on different surfaces placed 3 silicone feet.

Since we have the European version (DNS sells exactly this), to connect to the network alternating current A CEE 7/7 plug is used (CPCS-CCC in the Chinese version). Electrical contacts are protected by plastic caps.

In general, to summarize the section, the author could not find any flaws in the assembly/manufacturing, the design came at the right time, and we will get acquainted with the ease of management and operation in the next section.

Testing operation and ease of location of controls

Test volumes will be 0.5, 1 and 1.5 liters. For convenience, the data is summarized in a small table. The initial water temperature is 18°C.

After boiling, the surface of the kettle warmed up to only 45 °C according to the readings of a Chinese non-contact pyrometer. Tactilely - just a warm surface. The handle, as it should, does not heat up.

2. Electricity consumption. When boiling, the kettle consumes up to 1946 W/h. In order to boil 0.5 liters of water you need 54 W, for 1 liter – 98 W, for 1.5 liters – 152 W.

3. In addition to simple boiling, it is possible to maintain the temperature at a certain value, which is turned on by pressing the “Warm” button. By default it is 50 °C, duration 12 hours (maximum) and “Cool to specified temperature” mode.

The touch control buttons, despite their close proximity to each other, are quite convenient; you just need to get used to their location. No spontaneous activations or accidental touches were observed during testing.

Software

There are several ways to download the application. The simplest and most obvious are to open the Play Store, enter Mi Home in the search bar and install, or scan the QR code directly from the kettle. We agree to the terms of use of the software.

To use the software you will need a Mi account (you can register) or a Facebook account.

If bluetooth is not turned on, the program will kindly suggest turning it on, which is what we do. Next you will be prompted to give access to GPS. If you want, click the button to go to settings, or cancel if you do not want to do this. Whether or not you allow access to Wi-Fi to search for devices connected via this protocol.

In the dialog box that appears, click Accept. We go through all the suggested steps. Hold down the Warm button on the kettle for 3 seconds. The kettle will be connected, accompanied by a sound signal, and the plug-in will be installed.

The plugin will open, we immediately check the firmware update of the kettle itself. To do this, click the three dots and select General settings. Go to the submenu check firmware update. The software will check the version on the server and on the kettle, and offer, as in my case, to update. We are waiting for the completion of the firmware process.

The top part shows the current temperature of the water in the kettle. Convenient, you don’t need to go to the kettle and preemptively heat it or try to tactilely determine the temperature of the water inside.

Under the scale, you can select this same target temperature either from 3 presets, or select an arbitrary temperature in the range from 40 to 90 °C.

Clicking on the “More” button opens a page with five built-in presets, select to display on home page plugins you can only use 3 of them. When you select the fourth one, you will be thoughtfully offered to replace one of the previously selected ones. Here we encounter “under-translation” - a confirmation button in Chinese. I would like to note that each pictogram indicates what this or that temperature is used for (coffee, baby food etc.).

Cool to set temperature works as follows. First, the water in the kettle is brought to a temperature close to boiling, and after that it is cooled to desired temperature. Obviously, this algorithm is suitable for unboiled water. But what if the water was already boiled, but you simply forgot about it? Repeated boiling means, at a minimum, the consumption of excess electricity, and therefore material costs. It is for such cases that the “Do not re-boil” option is present here. In this mode, the following algorithm is used to maintain the set temperature: when the current temperature deviates by 5 °C below the set value, the heater turns on. It heats the water a little more (3-5 °C) than required and turns off. The number of turns on and, as follows, the electricity consumption will be different for everyone, but during testing, 12 W were consumed per turn on.

"Heat to set temperature" It only heats the water to the specified temperature without attempting to boil it first.
For both modes there is additional function– extended heating. Despite the name, its essence is to resume the selected mode after removing and then installing the kettle back on the stand. It's also quite a useful thing.

Attentive readers may have noticed that there is no elementary (or even logical) button - boil. The indignation of the author and many other people is connected with this. Xiaomi, are you serious? It's a teapot! And you can’t just take it and boil it out of bed when you wake up in the morning! Yes, you can do this through crutches in the form of the first heating mode, but! To do this, you must first switch the kettle to temperature maintenance mode, and it will “eat” electricity all night, which we do not need. Subjectively, this is the biggest drawback in the device, which kills the very idea " smart kettle" And it is not yet clear whether this is only a problem with the “software” (and laziness of programmers), or a limitation of the chip used in the kettle.

Conclusion

Advantages:
+ High-quality assembly and materials;
+ Wide filler neck;
+ Temperature maintenance mode and control from your phone;
+ Temperature indication in the application;
+ Fast boiling.
Flaws:
- You cannot boil the kettle from the application (without switching it to heating mode);
- No water level indicator;
- Small software functionality.

I would like to express my gratitude to DNS for providing the sample, as well as DNS Experts Club for the opportunity to publish the review.

The Xiaomi smart home ecosystem is much less known in our country than the smartphones produced by this company. However, not so long ago we tested a rice cooker, and here is another one household appliance, kettle. Like the rice cooker, it is white, elegant, minimalistic and just enough reminiscent of Apple products so that one cannot formally find fault with it;)

Characteristics

Equipment

The box was also supposed to be white and elegant (as conceived by Xiaomi designers), but parcels from China are apparently dropped from an airplane on the fly, so the box that came to us was no longer very elegant and in some places not quite white.

Inside the box there are: a teapot, a stand and instructions. Thoughtful foam inserts allowed them to reach us unharmed - the packaging took the blow.

At first sight

As we said above, the design of the kettle from Xiaomi, sorry for the oxymoron, is “maximum minimalist.” This makes an impression in person - but, alas, leaves quite a few words for a textual description of these very impressions.

The only non-white element is the contact pad for the kettle.

By the way, on the teapot itself it is also black. We can assume that the reason is very simple: Xiaomi is not involved in the production of these parts, so in this case its designers were powerless :)

The stand is equipped with a niche in which excess wire can be stored.

The kettle's flask is entirely made of steel; therefore, the device does not have any water level sensor. When you press the button, the lid first opens approximately 45°, but then it can be manually opened to 90°. The bottom of the lid, in direct contact with the flask, is also steel. There is no filter for retaining scale.

Instructions

The original instructions included in the box can only help those few Russian speakers who also speak Chinese.

For everyone else, we can advise you to use one of the many “homemade” translations into Russian posted on the Internet. We found it to be quite acceptable in terms of quality of execution.

Control

On the top of the handle there is a mechanical button that opens the lid.

On the bottom of the same handle there are two touch buttons. Google Translate translated these inscriptions for us as “cook” (pictured above left) and “isolation” (bottom right).

We managed to guess the true purpose of the first button without much difficulty - after all, where to “cook”, there is also “boil”. And indeed: if you press this button, the device will boil water and turn off.

With “isolation” it was more difficult... but not much, because if there are only two buttons, and the purpose of one of them is known, then the purpose of the second is determined simply by the method of elimination. And so it turned out: this is the “maintain temperature” button. But where to set its value? Looks like it's time to learn the software...

Smartphone control

First you will need to install the MiHome utility. This is a common shell for managing all Xiaomi smart home devices.

When you launch MiHome for the first time, you will be asked to specify a location. This is where we made a mistake the first time, but now we are wise in hindsight: no matter where you actually are, Mainland China should be your choice. Otherwise, nothing will simply work.

Next, you will be asked to log in. You'll have to create a Xiaomi account (if you don't already have one) - there's no way without it. However, this is not a very complicated procedure - just click “Sign in”, and on the next page select “sign up”.

After logging into your account, you will be able to add a device using the “+” button in the upper right corner.

Before pressing the “Scan” button, make sure that the stand is plugged in, the kettle is on the stand and Bluetooth is turned on in your smartphone/tablet.

And here is our kettle (Devices nearby). Tap on the icon and MiHome first loads the kettle control module and then launches it.

Initial binding. We quite easily guessed that the picture depicts one of the buttons on the kettle. It should be noted that recognizing the hieroglyphs was also not particularly difficult - on the other button they are significantly different. So, the button is defined. What to do? The presence of the Arabic number 3 among the inscriptions in Chinese suggests that something needs to be done 3 times. There are two obvious options: press three times in a row or press and hold for 3 seconds. The second one turned out to be correct.

The connection process is not very long: as a rule, after about 10%, the numbers begin to “gallop” and the connection only takes 5-6 seconds. But sometimes it happens that it is not possible to implement it at all. Then we recommend clicking on the “restart Bluetooth and reconnect” button.

However, in our case, everything went well and we finally got to the kettle control menu. I'm glad that the kettle module is at least English-language. There are worse situations in MiHome...

In principle, everything is clear. At the top, on a blue background, the temperature of the water in the kettle is displayed in degrees Celsius, accurate to the nearest degree (spoiler: the background color depends on the temperature).

Next comes the “Keep warm time” slider, which allows you to set the amount of time during which the kettle will maintain the set temperature after the appropriate command. Range: from 1 hour to 12.

Next, this same temperature is set. There are three presets and a slider for setting a custom value. Minimum temperature— 40 °C, maximum — 90 °C, step — 10 °C. Presets can be changed to others (“More>”), but there are always exactly three of them.

The “Cool down the boiled water” and “Warm up the water” buttons are responsible for switching between two scenarios: “cool” or “heat,” respectively. At the same time, in the “cool” scenario, the “Do not boil again” switch is available.

That, in fact, is the whole simple control panel. How to start the process? Where is the "Start" button? We searched for a long time. We, sorry for the newspeak, have erased the entire screen. And after all these hopeless searches, a terrible truth reached us: buttons - on the kettle.

The unearthly logic of this decision is still foreign body wanders through the convolutions of our brain, but we could not find any other answer to the question “where are the buttons?”

If you press the “boiling” button, the program cheerfully reports that heating has begun, animating the blue water with the image of pop-up bubbles.

“Water”, as we have already spoiled above, starting with certain temperature starts to change color.

The application, however, sometimes switches to Chinese in unpredictable places.

That's all, actually. The temperature and duration of its maintenance can be set on the smartphone, after which one of the buttons on the kettle will boil water, and the other will give the command to maintain the set temperature for a specified time.

Well, at any time - open the corresponding applet in MiHome (if the kettle is within range of your Bluetooth) and see what temperature the water in the kettle is in this moment time.

Usage

Preparation

Regarding the preparation of the device for operation, the translation option that we came across is generally silent. So we did what we always do: we poured water into the new kettle a couple of times and poured it out (without boiling or even heating).

Practice

During operation, the kettle functioned as expected, without creating any particular problems. Sometimes the connection with the smartphone was lost, but when you pressed the corresponding button in MiHome, it was restored.

It’s convenient to pour the kettle; you just need to remember to “open” the lid manually, because the button only opens it halfway.

The handle is grippy, it is comfortable to hold the kettle, and it is light in weight - after all, the capacity is only 1.5 liters.

Care

The instructions (our unofficial translation) advise descaling in this way: pour 0.5 liters into the kettle food vinegar, keep it there for 1 hour, pour it out, wipe the inside of the kettle, fill it with water, boil it, pour out the water. Then just pour and empty the kettle 4-5 times. Well, that's the same way...

Testing

The usable volume of the kettle (pour water up to the Max mark on the body, pour it into a volumetric flask) was 1500 ml, that is, exactly as much as indicated in the passport.

A full kettle (1.5 liters) of water at a temperature of 20°C is brought to a boil in 5 minutes 42 seconds, 0.152 kWh of electricity is spent on this. The maximum measured power consumption at a voltage of 220 V was 1665 W.

The kettle brought the reference portion of water (1 liter at a temperature of 20°C) to a boil in 4 minutes 2 seconds, spending 0.11 kWh of electricity.

The energy consumption of the device when turned on but not working is 0.0 W.

Of course, that doesn't happen. However, our wattmeter showed exactly this value, so we can only state that the energy consumption of this kettle at rest is so low that our device could not measure it.

Temperature outer surface body 10 minutes after boiling was 38 °C (at a room temperature of about 22 °C). This allows us to assume that the heat-saving properties of Xiaomi Kettle are quite high.

The actual temperature of the water after heating to the set value, according to the culinary thermometer, was:

The temperature of the water in the kettle after boiling was:

• after 1 hour - 78°C
• after 2 hours - 64°C
• after 3 hours - 55°C

This, of course, is not Caso VakO², but it is also quite decent.

The water from the device with the lid closed completely drains in 15 seconds.

conclusions

Lyrical digression. Once, when my friends and I were vacationing in Abkhazia, one local apatskha (cafe) seduced us with the promise of “divine local mullet cooked over coals.” Not everyone was a fish lover, but one young lady ordered this particular dish. When they brought it, we asked her together: “Well, how?” After trying and thinking for a while, she replied: “You know... in general, nothing divine.”

In the context of the mentioned history, this definition most accurately fits as brief description our impressions of Xiaomi kettle. He is handsome (subjective impression). It copes with all the declared functions. It has pretty good thermal insulation.

But this is not a revelation or a sensation - “nothing divine.” Just another kettle with Bluetooth control option.

Its main advantages lie on a purely aesthetic plane. Except for one thing - really good thermal insulation.

At the same time, the disadvantages are purely practical: small volume, lack of a water level sensor, sufficient complex installation and software setup, inability to start the process remotely. And, by the way, let’s not forget how easily matte white surfaces get dirty.

pros

• many people will find him cute
• good thermal insulation

Minuses

• lack of official localization
• no water level sensor
• No remote start boiling and heating

The outer body of the kettle is made of food-grade white polypropylene. The design is in an elegant minimalist style. Special attention has been paid to the spout, which ensures a neat stream without splashes or sudden shocks. Thanks to its laconic design, the kettle will fit perfectly into any place in the house, be it a tea table in the living room or a bar counter in the kitchen. The designers took the task seriously, because in their eyes a teapot is not just kitchen appliance, but an important part of everyday life and interior, deserving careful consideration of every detail.
The process of boiling the kettle takes only 5 minutes. All elements of the kettle that come into contact with water, namely inner surface, the cover and temperature sensor are made of 304 stainless steel from Pohang Iron and Steel Company (Posco), conforming to GB9684 standard. This material is absolutely safe for health, therefore it is widely used in medical and food industries, does not form plaque or scale, has no odors and is easy to clean. Thanks to the optimized electrical connector in the center of the stand, the risk of electric shock when touched is minimized. Moreover, even if water gets inside the stand, current leakage will be eliminated.

Various varieties teas have their own brewing rules: for example, to maximize the aroma Puer tea, it is necessary to brew it with boiling water; green tea is brewed at a temperature of 80-90°C, probiotics and honey also require a certain temperature - too hot water can nullify them beneficial features. The Xiaomi kettle is equipped with a smart temperature control function. It is carried out via a Bluetooth connection via a mobile phone. Xiaomi app Smart Home. With it, you can control the temperature of the water in the kettle at your discretion, for example, heat the water to a certain temperature or maintain the temperature you need after boiling.
The kit includes an adapter for a European socket.

The kettle has a volume of 1.5 liters. The device is quite powerful - 1800 W. One and a half liters of water boils in just 5 minutes. The Nidec Shibaura/HGTECH temperature sensor in combination with the STRIX temperature controller provides precise control of the water heating temperature. Wherein double body will ensure heat retention for 12 hours. On the top of the handle there is a mechanical button for opening the lid and has two opening “modes”: 45⁰ (for convenient pouring of water) and 80⁰ (so that the kettle can be washed). Inside, the kettle has a 304 stainless steel flask, which, according to the manufacturer, will protect the device from scale and unpleasant odor. Nand two were placed on the inside of the handle. The first kettle turns on and simply boils water, and the second is designed to maintain the temperature. And, by the way, they were made sensory. But the most interesting thing lies not in these buttons, but in the remote control.

Despite the apparent ease of operation, the Xiaomi Smart Kettle is a highly technical device with several levels of protection. Now you don't have to worry short circuits, electric shocks when water gets on the stand or their failure due to the heating of an empty kettle - the model is protected from these factors and automatically turns off in any dangerous situation, guaranteeing the absolute safety of the user. Now even such a simple process as boiling water will take place quickly and taking into account all your wishes. To get aesthetic pleasure from a teapot that complements the interior, enjoy comfortable use, as well as surprise guests with its “smart” functions.

Characteristics of Xiaomi Mi Smart Kettle:

• Manufacturer: Xiaomi
• Model: MiJia Smart Temperature Control Kettle
• Type: Smart Kettle
• Dimensions:
• Weight: 1240g
• Volume: 1.5l
• Rated frequency: 50Hz
• Rated voltage: 220V
• Rated power: 1800W
• Wireless connection: Bluetooth 4.0 BLE
• Standards: GB4706.1 GB4706.19 Q/YM 008-2016
• White color

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