Earlier this year, Xiaomi announced a partnership with Chinese shoemaker company Li-Ning. It was an odd partnership but the idea was to create smart shoes. For those who are wondering what are the fruits of that partnership, you might be interested to learn that in an official press conference held today, the fruits of their labor were revealed.
Dubbed the Li-Ning smart shoes, these are shoes that have been designed with input from both companies – presumably the shoe side from Li-Ning, and the tech side from Xiaomi. Best of all, unlike most branded sports shoes today, the Li-Ning smart shoes will be pretty affordable as they are priced at 199 Yuan (~$32) and 399 Yuan (~$64) respectively.
Both shoes will feature Bluetooth connectivity and will sport military grade motion sensor chips. The shoes themselves are waterproof, sweatproof, and have been designed to withstand the rigours of daily use. Xiaomi claims that the sensors built into the shoes should be good for more than a year.
The shoes will be able to collect data on the wearer like steps taken, calories burnt, and other fitness-related data, kind of like what you would expect from a fitness band or a smartwatch. The shoes are expected to go up for sale come 20th of July in China, but unfortunately there was no mention if there would be a launch stateside.
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