Xiaomi Mi Rice Cooker

Chinese tech firm Xiaomi has made a name for itself with its cheap-but-premium Android handsets, but the company has ambitions beyond cell phones. It already offers a number of home products and appliances under its brand, including air and water purifiers. Today, it announced a new sub-brand to tie these devices together. With “Mi Ecosystem” Xiaomi will puts its stamp of approval on products manufactured by partners, with the first  — a minimalist, $150 rice cooker — going on sale on April 6th.

The cooker itself is somewhat typical of Xiaomi’s approach, combining a sleek and simple design (not dissimilar to rice cookers built by Japanese firm Muji), a handful of connected smarts, and a price that undercuts the competition. The cooker will sell for just 999 yuan (around $153), which Xiaomi says is about 40 percent cheaper than its rivals.