Xiaomi unwraps the Mi MIX, the edgeless smartphone concept that's certain to catch anyone's eye. The best part about it? It's actually available for purchase.
Flagship-Level Specs And A Screen That Goes For Miles — Figuratively, Of Course
Unveiled at the Beijing event of the "Apple of China," the handset rocks a 6.4-inch 1080p LCD bezel-less display that's curved at the corners, and just to be clear on that, it practically occupies the whole device so much so that it has a 91.3 percent screen-to-body ratio.
Quick note on that: It's almost reminiscent of Sharp's Corner R concept.
On the performance side of things, the Mi MIX is on the same playing field as the flagships in the current brood such as the Google Pixel, housing a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821.
As for the cameras, it's equipped with a 16-megapixel main shooter and a 5-megapixel selfie snapper. For those wondering where the front sensor is placed, it's located in the bottom right corner of the smartphone. At first, it seems awkward, but it adjusts itself when the user flips it upside down.
More than that, Xiaomi is offering it in two variants: a model with 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of default storage and another one with 6 GB of RAM and 256 GB of native storage, which has a rear camera and a fingerprint reader embellished with 18-karat gold accents.
Packing a 4,400 mAh battery, it's expected to keep up with the user throughout the day, despite having to power a pretty large screen, not to mention that it can be juiced up fairly quickly thanks to the Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 feature.
Also, Xiaomi Global Vice President Hugo Barra jokingly notes that the "headphone jack is intact for now," more or less hinting that it may do away with the port in the future and borrowing a page from Apple's playbook.
Last but not least, it has support for both dual SIM and NFC to boot.
Lots Of Technology Crammed Under The Hood
To start things off, users won't find an earpiece speaker on the Mi MIX, but that doesn't mean it can't make calls, as it's loaded with a cantilever piezoelectric actuator under the display that can generate sound, serving as the perfect replacement.
As another nifty technology worth pointing out, Xiaomi did away with the typical infrared proximity sensor, putting in an ultrasonic proximity sensor instead. That makes the Mi MIX the first smartphone to have such a configuration.
On top of that, it features palm rejection in its toolbox, and considering the edge-to-edge display, that's a welcome addition to the mix.
However, everyone better think twice before dunking it in water or going out for a swim with it, as it's not waterproof.
Design To Die For, Courtesy Of French Designer Philippe Starck
Beyond the edgeless design, the Mi MIX has a full ceramic body, and for the record, that includes the back cover, frame and buttons.
Wrapping Up The Edgeless Smartphone
The Mi MIX is scheduled to become available on Nov. 4 in China, with the base model coming in with a 3,499 yuan (about $516) price and the high-end variant with a 3,999 yuan (about $590) tag. As a reminder, the latter is the version with the aforementioned 18-karat gold addition.
It should also be pointed out that the Mi Note 2 has been announced too, sporting a Snapdragon 821 chip, 6 GB of RAM, a 5.7-inch display and a 22.56-megapixel rear-facing camera. That said, it's considered as one of the potential alternatives to the discontinued Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
What do you think of Xiaomi's Mi MIX and its edgeless design and impressive offerings? Hit us up in the comments section below and let us know.
