Xiaomi's First NAS Launches at 2,699 RMB: An Industrial Designer Looks at the Design of Smart Storage
Xiaomi finally made a NAS. Starting at 2,699 RMB, the Xiaomi Smart Storage is now open for reservation—a 4-bay desktop NAS with dual 2.5G Ethernet ports and Docker support. The body: matte white shell, angled cut heat-dissipation grille on top, magnetic snap-on front panel. Anyone who does product structure design sees this and their first thought isn't "that looks nice"—it's "how did they do the thermal design?"
What the News Actually Says
On August 21, Xiaomi listed its first NAS product—the Xiaomi Smart Storage—at 2,699 RMB. 4 bays (up to 24TB × 4), dual 2.5G Ethernet, Intel N100 CPU, 6GB RAM, with Docker and phone photo backup support. That spec is competitive against Synology/QNAP at the same price point, but the more interesting question is: how does Xiaomi approach this category from an industrial design perspective?
NAS isn't a new category—Synology, QNAP, Zspace, and UGREEN have all been at it for years. But Xiaomi entering means the category is one step further along its shift from "geek toy" to "consumer electronics." From a product design standpoint, there are several things worth unpacking.
