A photo of Xiaomi Mi 7's front panel made its way out, showing fans a not-so-unique design that was first seen on the iPhone X.
If the leak is true, it's another Android phone that copies the iPhone X design just for the aesthetics. However, Xiaomi might just surprise fans if it also releases its own 3D face recognition software.
Xiaomi Mi 7 Front Panel Leak
The alleged front panel of the Xiaomi Mi 7 looks to be a 2.5D glass with a bigger screen-to-body ratio than Vivo X21's 85.2 percent.
The top and bottom bezels look slightly thicker than the side bezels. On top, there is a notch that looks similar to the one on the iPhone X. It also has holes for the front-facing camera, an earpiece, and the proximity sensor.
The leak also has similarities to the Vivo X21's front panel. However, the bezels in the Vivo handset are uniform in width except for the bottom border, which is much thicker than Mi 7's. The notch on the top is also more inconspicuous.
Rumored Xiaomi Mi 7 Specifications
Underneath the screen, the Xiaomi Mi 7 is rumored to come equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 SoC. The newest chipset is in the Mi Mix 2s as well, Xiaomi's first flagship of the year.
A leaked screenshot of the phone's specifications revealed an 8 GB RAM and a 4,480 mAh battery. Considering that the Mi6 only has 4/6 GB RAM and 3,350 mAh battery, fans are possibly looking at a huge upgrade.
There should also be a 16-megapixel/16-megapixel dual-camera setup and a 128 GB option. It's speculated that there will be a 256 GB variant, but no proof of that has surfaced yet.
The Mi 7 was supposed to be revealed at the MWC 2018 as Xiaomi announced in December 2017. However, the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s took precedence.
"Xiaomi is committed to making devices that combine cutting-edge innovations in technology and beautiful design, while defying price expectations, and we have chosen Snapdragon 845 to power our next flagship smartphone," said Lei Jun, founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Xiaomi.
Notches Still Unwelcome
Still, industry observers are not fans of notches that Apple started with the iPhone X. In an attempt to make each bezel as thin as possible while accommodating the Face ID, the Cupertino company fashioned a cutout to house the front modules.
Instead of following Samsung's design, which has a rather thicker top border, smartphone companies started following after Apple's footsteps.
Fans noted that the design choices of other companies were merely to emulate the iPhone X design. No Android phone has yet the same 3D face recognition as Apple's, which dictated the need for the notch in the first place.
However, reports speculate that the Xiaomi Mi 7 may have this feature as hinted by the design of the notch. There looks to be some space for the 3D face recognition sensors. If this is true, Xiaomi will be the first Android company to achieve this feature ahead of the bigger brands in the industry.
