Xiaomi’s Donovan Sung said to a group of journalists that with the launch of the Mi MIX 2S today, Xiaomi is “at the cutting edge.” Sung believes that not just because of the specs included in the Mi MIX 2S, but also due to the design and materials that the company used for its newest phablet. The Mi MIX debuted back in the fall of 2016 (and was actually one of the few smartphones in the industry that was a complete surprise), and was one of the first mainstream flagships to boast a ceramic build, as well as being nearly bezel-less. That holds true today with its third-generation Mi MIX smartphone, the Mi MIX 2S. Sung says that Xiaomi launched a “trend” back in 2016 with the Mi MIX, that has really caught on. And what Sung is referring to there is the fact that the Mi MIX sported a nearly bezel-less design, and a different display aspect ratio than what was commonly used. Going with a 17:9 aspect ratio, while all other smartphones had been 16:9. Now Xiaomi has moved to 18:9, but Xiaomi was also the company that pushed Google to adopt different aspect ratios into Android and the CDD.
With the Mi MIX 2S, Sung says that Xiaomi isn’t just saying its at the cutting edge, but showing that it is. This is because the Mi MIX 2 has won three prestigous design awards. Something that Xiaomi likely wouldn’t have won a few years ago, when many believed that its smartphones looked a whole lot like the iPhone. The Mi MIX smartphones have always been incredibly beautiful looking devices, and that is likely going to continue. However, Sung also admits that he and the rest of Xiaomi really don’t know what’s going to be “cutting edge” in the next six months or even the next year. But that doesn’t mean Xiaomi is going to rest on its laurels. In fact, Sung said that wherever the trend goes, Xiaomi will do what’s right for its customers, and that Xiaomi wants to use “top notch, cutting-edge technology.”
Engineers and designers at Xiaomi have a vision of the future of smartphones, which is just a sheet of glass. And that can be seen with the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S, especially with the black model. Where there is very little bezel on three sides, and then a very small chin at the bottom. Xiaomi also worked to make it even less intrusive by adding a coating of black paint over the camera (though that’s not the technical term), and that’s to hide the camera a bit more. Xiaomi actually had this vision for the future way back with the original Mi MIX, and that was released nearly a year and a half ago now. And Xiaomi is still working toward getting there.
Xiaomi’s goal is to “help set the trend,” says Sung, and that’s also something the company’s CEO Lei Jun said in the keynote today in Shanghai. The company is now going from a “made in China” to “designed in China” philosophy. While Xiaomi’s smartphones are still made in China, they don’t have that moniker of looking like a “Chinese smartphone” but rather a beautiful smartphone, the executive suggested. That is also why Xiaomi went out and found a world-renowned designer to help it build the original Mi MIX smartphone, and that was Philippe Starck. Starck really helped shape the Mi MIX lineup from the very beginning, and some of the traits from the Mi MIX series have also trickled down into other smartphones in Xiaomi’s portfolio. Though ceramic does appear to be sticking out with its flagship smartphones like the Mi MIX and the latest Mi smartphones.