Xiaomi's smart rice cooker helps cook perfect rice every single time

Chinese tech giant Xiaomi is mostly known outside of China for its super cheap (but highly polished) smartphones like the new Mi 5, but within Asia its home appliances are quickly becoming as common as those from Samsung or LG.

Xiaomi's newest smart appliance under the Mi Ecosystem sub-brand, is called the Mi Induction Heating Pressure Rice Cooker. 

If you've ever cooked rice, you'll know it can be really easy to undercook or overcook it. Different types and brands of rice need different amounts of water-to-grain ratios. (It's not always 1.5 cups of water to every cup of rice. Trust me, I've been cooking rice my entire life and I still mess it up whenever I try a new brand; it takes experimentation.)

Xiaomi's smart rice cooker connects to the Mi Home app and can scan a pack of rice, identify its brand and origin, and adjust how it's cooked -- and hopefully cook perfect rice every time. The Mi Home app can detect up to 200 brands of rice, with more brands to be added in the future.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

While most people use a rice cooker to cook, well, rice, it can actually cook many other things, like steamed veggies. Xiaomi says the app includes recipes for cooking crispy rice and even cakes. Users simply look up the recipe and then set the heating method in the app.

Not only is its minimalist design very MUJI-esque, but Xiaomi boasts its $999 RMB (about $153) is about 40% that of competing products made by Japanese brands. Low pricing, after all, is one of the main reasons Xiaomi's products are so popular. The smart rice cooker will be available in China from Mi.com and starting April 6.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Xiaomi may not sell its smartphones in the U.S. (yet), but the Chinese tech company has shown interest in releasing its other gadgets in America. Xiaomi quietly opened a U.S. online store last year. You'll only find headphones, battery packs and the company's $15 Mi Band activity and sleep tracker in it, but given the company's global ambitions, there's no reason to think Xiaomi won't eventually sell its smart rice cooker, smart air purifier, smart TVs and other electronics in the west.

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