Xiaomi now wants to make your home smarter

Upstart Chinese phone-maker Xiaomi today unveiled a bunch of smart home gadgets designed for use by its phone customers. The company also unveiled a smart home platform that ties it all together, and is now taking in 200 beta testers.

However, the company hasn’t released further details about its smart home strategy, and it’s not clear if the gadgets will be controlled by a downloadable app, or if the controls will be built into a software update for Xiaomi’s smartphones.

A Xiaomi representative explained to Tech in Asia that more details would emerge about how all this ties together as the beta program progresses.

Xiaomi makes two of the four gadgets (pictured above) unveiled today. They are:

• Mi Smart Power Plug
• Mi Smart Remote Center
• Ants smart webcam
• Yeelight smart lights

Yeelight is a Chinese startup that graduated out of HAXLR8R, the Shenzhen-based accelerator program for hardware teams, in 2013.

Xiaomi already sells a smart wi-fi router, which will likely play a part in its ‘internet of things’ plans.

This development from Xiaomi comes as arch-rivals Samsung and Apple also develop ways to integrate smart home gadgets with your phone or tablet.