In today’s episode of crazy new tech being announced, Xiaomi just shook the smartphone world with its new Mi Mix Alpha. Now hold on a second, so the Chinese brand that makes great budget smartphones just did something that’s never been done before. Well, indeed it has. So what makes the Mi Mix Alpha special? It is the first smartphone in the world with a whopping 180% screen to body ratio.
You’ve read that right 180%. All the latest flagships from Samsung, Apple, Huawei, and OnePlus are just a hair under 90% and we thought that was impressive. So how did Xiaomi accomplish this? Well, as you can see from the pictures, the display is wrapped all around the device and the only parts that are not the display are the chin, forehead, and the camera module at the back. According to Xiaomi, they also happen to be made out of aero grade titanium.
While we don’t know much about the amazing display, except that Xiaomi calls it 4D surrounding curve display, we do know a lot about its cameras. Like most other new smartphones, the Mix Alpha has a triple-camera layout at the back. It consists of a staggering 108MP main sensor, a 20MP ultrawide with up to 1.5cm macro capability and a 12MP telephoto with 2x optical zoom. The main sensor also happens to measure 1/1.33-inch, which makes it larger than the sensor on any other smartphone. This gives it a clear advantage in low light scenarios.
There’s no selfie camera but then again it’s not needed anyway as you can see your face at the rear part of the display. Moving on to the performance specs, the Mix Alpha has a Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 855+ CPU under the hood which, along with Apple’s A13 Bionic, is one of the most powerful mobile CPUs out there. The rest is 12GB RAM, 512GB storage, all relevant and usable in this day and age. It will also have 5G connectivity.
The Mi Mix Alpha has a 4050mAh battery which might just be its weakest point. Now 4050mAh is a great number for a normal smartphone. However, with a display that big, this will surely drain like nothing else out there. A larger battery, preferably over 5000mAh, would’ve been better. Regardless, you do get 40W wired fast charging, which makes the whole process of charging a tad bit less boring.
Judging from all these specs, you may have developed an interest in this device and some of you may even want to buy it. However, you may be disappointed to know that this phone is, at the time of writing, still a concept. Xiaomi has no plans of mass-producing this revolutionary device any time soon. Though there will be a few units made in December and they’ll sell for around $2800, so might as well save up if you’re interested.
As far as my thoughts go, I’m really impressed by Xiaomi for coming up with something like this. Usually, the brands that are synonymous with innovation are Apple and Samsung. Chinese brands like Xiaomi were known to save their R&D budget by using already existing smartphone technology and make products that cost way less. This time, things are a lot different. I really wish this device makes it to production as it might change the way smartphones look in the next couple of years.