China-based Xiaomi's first notebook products reportedly will enter mass production in the first quarter of 2016 and the vendor plans to release two models, a 12.5-inch and a 13.3-inch, the former made by Inventec and the later Compal Electronics, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.

However, related players declined to comment on their orders.

Xiaomi's notebooks are expected to feature a price-performance ratio as high as its smartphone products and Xiaomi's strong brand recognition in China is also expected to help boost its notebooks' sales. The sources also believe Xiaomi is likely to bundle its notebook with a smartphone to promote both product lines and such a strategy could pose a great threat to its notebook competitors.

The sources believe Xiaomi's entry into the notebook market will impact Lenovo the most initially and Xiaomi is also rumored to have been aggressively headhunting Lenovo's executives.

With China still a major battlefield for the notebook market, Xiaomi's advantages in price competition is expected to affect existing notebook players and impact notebook's average selling prices (ASP).

Xiaomi placed orders for about 250,000 units for the 12.5-inch model and 500,000 units for the 13.3-inch one.