Customization is all the rage nowadays, and while we’ve been able to customize how our Android phones look for some time now, manufacturers are realizing that the more options we get to customize our hardware the more likely we are to spend more money on our phones. Call it customizing, accessorizing or whatever makes you feel best, but making your phone truly yours starts with changing the style from the one everyone else has to your very own. iPhones have been made fun of forever because just about the only thing you can change to make it your own is a different wall of installed apps and a different case, and while Xiaomi clearly loves to style their phones after Apple’s main design traits it has heard the call to customizing the hardware as well as the software.
The MIUI version of Android that Xiaomi’s phones ship with already lets you customize nearly every visual element of the OS you want, and now with the Mi4 Xiaomi is going to let you switch out the back plate with one of 12 individual designs. These designs come in natural elements from fabric to leather and all sorts of different types of wood. Whether or not these back covers are actually made out of the material they represent is not known currently, but visually you’d be hard pressed to distinguish from the real material and whatever man-made materials Xiaomi may choose to use. 6 Different types of wood range from light bamboo all the way to a dark cherry color, and leather options present themselves as cow hide, snake skin and a variety of other ones. There’s also a fabric option that looks very much like a beige colored pair of jeans.
We’ve already seen one Chinese manufacturer, OnePlus, announce similar options for their phone the OnePlus One, and while the first of those are slated to hit shelves in China today we’re still awaiting the rest. Xiaomi just announced the Mi4 earlier today and it looks like a complete beast of a phone. With top of the line specs, a gorgeous 5-inch screen and a price that promises to be killer, Xiaomi has another hot seller on its hands for sure. Check out all the covers in the gallery below!
