Medion

Medion
Information
Type	Subsidiary (AG)
Industry	Consumer electronics
Founded	1983
Founder	Gerd Brachmann
Headquarters	Essen, Germany
Notable Personnel	Gerd Brachmann
Products	Computers, notebooks, smartphones, tablets, televisions, VR headsets
Parent	Lenovo (2011-2025)
Website	https://www.medion.com

Medion (legally Medion AG) is a German consumer electronics company founded in 1983 by Gerd Brachmann and headquartered in Essen, Germany. The firm is best known for selling computers, notebooks, smartphones, tablets, televisions, and a wide range of other consumer electronics, often through large discount retail chains rather than dedicated electronics stores. In the virtual reality space, Medion is notable for the Medion Erazer X1000, a Windows Mixed Reality head-mounted display released in 2017 under its Erazer gaming brand.

Medion built its business model around high-volume sales campaigns, supplying own-brand products to international chain and discount stores. Its long-running partnership with the German discount retailer Aldi made it one of the largest electronics and computer sellers in Germany during the 2000s. The company also operated mobile virtual network services, including the Aldi Talk brand in Germany.

History

Medion was founded in 1983 by Gerd Brachmann and grew into one of Germany's largest consumer electronics suppliers, going public as Medion AG. Its commercial strategy centered on selling self-branded electronics through mass-market retailers, most prominently Aldi, where periodic Medion product promotions became a recurring fixture.

On 1 June 2011 the Chinese technology company Lenovo announced plans to acquire Medion, and Lenovo held a majority stake from August 2011 onward. At the time of the acquisition Medion reported revenue of about 1.43 billion euros and roughly 1,000 employees.

In early 2025 Lenovo completed the buyout of the remaining Medion shares and the company was delisted from the stock exchange. Shortly afterward, founder Gerd Brachmann repurchased a large part of the business from Lenovo, and the company was split. Under the resulting structure, Lenovo retained the PC division and continues to produce notebooks and desktops under the Medion and Erazer names as an original equipment manufacturer, keeping a small core of staff. A newly established Medion GmbH led by Brachmann took over household electronics, televisions, wearables, and the Aldi Talk mobile operations, and it also handles sales and marketing for Medion and Erazer computers. Most employees moved to Brachmann's company, with only a small number remaining at Lenovo.

Erazer brand

Erazer is Medion's brand for gaming and high-performance computing hardware, covering gaming notebooks and desktop PCs. Like Medion's other lines, Erazer products are frequently sold through Aldi as time-limited promotions, a pattern that has continued for years across successive notebook and desktop models. The Erazer brand was also used for Medion's single venture into virtual reality hardware, the Erazer X1000.

Virtual reality products

Medion's contribution to consumer VR is the Medion Erazer X1000, a tethered head-mounted display built for Microsoft's Windows Mixed Reality platform. It launched in 2017 as part of the first wave of Windows Mixed Reality headsets, a program for which Microsoft worked with several PC makers to produce headsets based on a shared reference design.

The Erazer X1000 used LCD panels at 1440x1440 pixels per eye with a 90 Hz refresh rate, and it relied on Windows Mixed Reality inside-out tracking through two onboard cameras, removing the need for external sensors or base stations. Sources differ on its field of view, with some listings citing up to 105 degrees and others around 95 degrees. A distinguishing feature was a flip-up visor that let the wearer lift the display to see the room without removing the headset. The headset launched at 449 euros and shipped with a set of Windows Mixed Reality Motion Controllers (the X1001). Reviews were broadly positive on setup and value but criticized weight, comfort, the visible pixel grid, and the limited software library available at launch.

Product	Year	Type	Notable specs and notes
Medion Erazer X1000	2017	Windows Mixed Reality head-mounted display	LCD 1440x1440 per eye; 90 Hz; inside-out tracking via two cameras; flip-up visor; bundled motion controllers; launched at 449 euros

Market position

Medion is one of Europe's larger consumer electronics brands by volume, a position built on supplying own-label products to discount retailers rather than competing through premium branding or dedicated stores. Within VR and AR, the company is a minor and historical participant: its single Windows Mixed Reality headset placed it alongside larger Windows Mixed Reality partners such as Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung, but Medion did not release a successor or move into standalone Mixed Reality hardware after the platform wound down.