In case you haven't heard about it, the Mi Mix Alpha is an all-screen smartphone prototype from Xiaomi. And it's exactly how it sounds like - a phone that is surrounded with nothing but a screen and the cameras.
There are almost zero buttons, no earpiece, and no selfie camera. But, that's not to say that Xiaomi hasn't found solutions to these issues. So, without any further ado, let's check it out!
Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha: First Look
The concept of an all-screen phone has been out for quite some time. But, this is the first time we see someone getting upclose and personal with the real deal.
The aforementioned YouTube couldn't be anyone else but Marques Brownlee. And as you can see, this is indeed a phone with a screen that extends all the way to the back.
The only parts that are not covered by the screen are the top and bottom along with a small strip where the cameras are placed. Other than that, there is nothing but a huge screen.
Leaving the screen aside, inside the phone, there is a Snapdragon 855+, 12 gigs of RAM, half a terabyte of storage, while the main sensor is Samsung's 108MP camera!
Speaking of cameras, the other 2 sensors are one 12MP, telephoto lens and another 20MP ultrawide camera which also acts as a macro lens. As for the selfie camera? There isn't one. More on that down below!
Before we move on, let us not forget to mention that this phone is rather heavy at about 241 grams. So, if you feel like 170-180 gram devices are heavy, this one is probably going to feel like a brick.
This is clearly an indication of high-quality materials - but when all of your phone is covered by a screen, well, let's just say that it probably won't handle drops very well. Xiaomi has mentioned that we're looking at titanium alloy, sapphire glass, and ceramic.
Interesting Design
As we mentioned at the beginning, there are no side buttons, no earpiece, and no selfie camera.
Here's how Xiaomi replaces all that:
- Side buttons: Touch buttons with palm detection
- Earpiece: Vibrating display
- Selfie camera: You turn the phone around and use the main camera for selfies
The earpiece and selfie-camera replacements are things we've seen before. However, touch-buttons are obviously something new.
The overall concept kind off works. Xiaomi mentioned that they are using numerous sensors and sophisticated software that can tell when you're holding the phone normally and when you want to press a button. At the moment, it doesn't work very well; but we expect that it'll get perfected in the near future.
The other side of the phone is generally used as a status bar. But, also get a few options on how to customize it through MIUI.
And don't forget about the back part of the display which can be used for various mini tasks such as controlling music playback, getting quick access to functions such as audio recording, looking at the weather, your steps, etc.
By the way, the phone immediately recognizes when you are looking at its back and immediately switches to the back display.
Pricing and Availability
Overall, the Mi Mix Alpha is clearly a very interesting device to look at, to say the least. One thing that isn't so nice, however, is its price. According to our sources, the phone is expected to come out with a retail price of 2500 EUR; or about $2751, for our American readers.
Availability is still kind of sketchy. The phone was introduced all the way back in September of 2019 - but we never saw an actual release. Some of our sources mention that it'll be available any day now in limited quantities in India - but take that info with a grain of salt.
At the end of the day, don't forget that this is more of a concept rather than an actual flagship.
That's all for now. Feel like we forgot to mention something important? Got anything wrong? Then let us and everyone else know about it in the comments section down below!
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