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Sounds like a dud $10 Mijia 1A with open button on lid - their lowest end model. Others have button on handle. I don't know any Xiaomi product with wide spread

Sounds like a dud $10 Mijia 1A with open button on lid - their lowest end model. Others have button on handle. I don't know any Xiaomi product with wide spread fitment issues, they're value engineered, but well assembled low-medium end consumer goods. Nice plastic, in Xiaomi white or black, occasionally orange accents. As well assembled as any western kit. Most of their kitchen appliance is some sort of knob and plastic covered button, very easy to clean/maintain. >consistent design language Less is more Dieter Ram, white/black, simple geometry with rounded edges, round oled display etc. It's very consistent. Especially considering they make nearly everything, from fridges, to cooktops, washing/dryer, to ACs, heaters, vacuums etc. Ultimately, they look nice, do the thing they do, for fraction of the price, i.e. affordable / actually make decent design available to masses. Bring "design" to low/medium income markets. Which is core to OG ethos/vision of modernism/functionalism.

throwaway290 3y ago
You got the model right, yes! > decent design it's not "decent design". "Design" is how things work. Button in the lid is bad design, excess poorly fit plastic (which costs some of that $10) is bad design. The kicker here is that it's both bad design and more expensive. > $10 Where you got that from? Quick search shows $20-30+ in most countries, that is mid range and more than other better budget kettles. It's even crazier in poorer countries like China or Philippines where $10-$12 is not just "a bit more", it literally buys you two or three kettles with better design (can open lid with single hand) and more capacity. And that's their lowest end price you say... Xiaomu is not "bringing decent design to the masses". This is duping "the masses" into spending more money on objectively worse product that they would have to throw away sooner. > dud No, other reviews about how button doesn't fully open lid or temperature sensor is off or rust are consistent. Seriously, it's just a badly put together product with zero innovation and worse quality sold at higher prices than equivalents. That's Xiaomi in my experience
- maxglute 3y ago
  >That's Xiaomi in my experience Compare it against entire Xiaomi product portfolio and company history, they sell 100s of millions of products per year across different segments, brand is known for quality : price ratio, like IKEA, which has recalls all the time because some SKUs launch with issues. If you follow coffee drama, plenty of high end 100-200 USD kettle's rust. Duds happen. What do you think makes more sense, your / some people's bad experience with one SKU, likely due bad manufacturing batch VS claim that xiaomi makes bad products? Xiaomi reputation where Xiaomi household goods (not just electronics) are sold has been pretty established in past 10 years - they make mostly good looking (according to taste) products, cheap, accessible, with occasional duds, like most companies. Biggest common complaint, are not manufacturing issues, which happens, but region locking smart products. >$10 / design It's offical price on xiaomi PRC, 69 rmb. I've seen it go on sale for $5. You can pay a few bucks more for kettle with button on handle from main Xiaomi line. 1A is "Mijia" - entry level beater kettle, it's fine for what it does - value engineer function/aesthetics for people on budget who also care about looks and are willing to make compromises. So much so that people willing to spend 100-200% premium (big reason why xiaomi popular on aliexpress) for the aesthetics - which is part of design, not just pure functionality. Even Braun/Rams "functionalism" from architectural modernism/functionalism, is as much about APPEARANCE as actual function. Unsurprisingly, a lot of OG functionalist designs, especially in architecutre end up not being very functional. But they do look good. And that's ultimately as / if not more important for people who buy these products. Good design in this context is balancing function and aesthtics and accessbility. Braun/ Xiaomi addresses such needs extra well because they have range of products, i.e. it's obvious 1A button on lid isn't made for single hand function. For people who want more functionality other than a beater kettle for a rental that prioritizes aesthetics/stage dressing, they can buy one of the higher end models.
  - throwaway290 3y ago
    Yes, Ikea and others recall products eg. for safety issues. Xiaomi did a recall too for their scooter for similar reasons. Nobody recalls for "bad design" because laws don't require that. Not sure how that helps the fact that design is bad though (Xiaomi should probably recall this kettle for malfunctioning temp sensor but they don't have that level of responsibility.) For the prices I saw they are not entry level at any of the rock bottom cheapest online markets in Russia (Yandex), Philippines (Lazada) or China (Taobao). It seems that in UK it sold for 30 pounds at amazon. And again even at the advertised 69 rmb price that only is true in China you can buy multiple better kettles with sane button placement in China. If you know the prices and salaries there you would hardly call that entry level price for a kettle The fact that you need to pay even more for a model just with sane button placement (forget other issues) just says it all. They spam white plastic until you don't see the ugly and now they think they're Apple, and apparently some people are buying that marketing. To be Apple you actually have to have good design.

throwaway290 3y ago

You got the model right, yes! > decent design it's not "decent design". "Design" is how things work. Button in the lid is bad design, excess poorly fit plastic (which costs some of that $10) is bad design. The kicker here is that it's both bad design and more expensive. > $10 Where you got that from? Quick search shows $20-30+ in most countries, that is mid range and more than other better budget kettles. It's even crazier in poorer countries like China or Philippines where $10-$12 is not just "a bit more", it literally buys you two or three kettles with better design (can open lid with single hand) and more capacity. And that's their lowest end price you say... Xiaomu is not "bringing decent design to the masses". This is duping "the masses" into spending more money on objectively worse product that they would have to throw away sooner. > dud No, other reviews about how button doesn't fully open lid or temperature sensor is off or rust are consistent. Seriously, it's just a badly put together product with zero innovation and worse quality sold at higher prices than equivalents. That's Xiaomi in my experience

maxglute 3y ago
>That's Xiaomi in my experience Compare it against entire Xiaomi product portfolio and company history, they sell 100s of millions of products per year across different segments, brand is known for quality : price ratio, like IKEA, which has recalls all the time because some SKUs launch with issues. If you follow coffee drama, plenty of high end 100-200 USD kettle's rust. Duds happen. What do you think makes more sense, your / some people's bad experience with one SKU, likely due bad manufacturing batch VS claim that xiaomi makes bad products? Xiaomi reputation where Xiaomi household goods (not just electronics) are sold has been pretty established in past 10 years - they make mostly good looking (according to taste) products, cheap, accessible, with occasional duds, like most companies. Biggest common complaint, are not manufacturing issues, which happens, but region locking smart products. >$10 / design It's offical price on xiaomi PRC, 69 rmb. I've seen it go on sale for $5. You can pay a few bucks more for kettle with button on handle from main Xiaomi line. 1A is "Mijia" - entry level beater kettle, it's fine for what it does - value engineer function/aesthetics for people on budget who also care about looks and are willing to make compromises. So much so that people willing to spend 100-200% premium (big reason why xiaomi popular on aliexpress) for the aesthetics - which is part of design, not just pure functionality. Even Braun/Rams "functionalism" from architectural modernism/functionalism, is as much about APPEARANCE as actual function. Unsurprisingly, a lot of OG functionalist designs, especially in architecutre end up not being very functional. But they do look good. And that's ultimately as / if not more important for people who buy these products. Good design in this context is balancing function and aesthtics and accessbility. Braun/ Xiaomi addresses such needs extra well because they have range of products, i.e. it's obvious 1A button on lid isn't made for single hand function. For people who want more functionality other than a beater kettle for a rental that prioritizes aesthetics/stage dressing, they can buy one of the higher end models.
- throwaway290 3y ago
  Yes, Ikea and others recall products eg. for safety issues. Xiaomi did a recall too for their scooter for similar reasons. Nobody recalls for "bad design" because laws don't require that. Not sure how that helps the fact that design is bad though (Xiaomi should probably recall this kettle for malfunctioning temp sensor but they don't have that level of responsibility.) For the prices I saw they are not entry level at any of the rock bottom cheapest online markets in Russia (Yandex), Philippines (Lazada) or China (Taobao). It seems that in UK it sold for 30 pounds at amazon. And again even at the advertised 69 rmb price that only is true in China you can buy multiple better kettles with sane button placement in China. If you know the prices and salaries there you would hardly call that entry level price for a kettle The fact that you need to pay even more for a model just with sane button placement (forget other issues) just says it all. They spam white plastic until you don't see the ugly and now they think they're Apple, and apparently some people are buying that marketing. To be Apple you actually have to have good design.