The highly-anticipated Xiaomi Mi MIX Alpha smartphone has just been announced with 5G connectivity. As a reminder, Xiaomi introduced the Mi Full Screen TV Pro series of TV and the Mi 9 Pro 5G during this event as well.
Having said that, let’s focus on the Mi MIX Alpha, shall we. Despite the fact we’ve seen several teasers and rumors thus far, Xiaomi still managed to surprise everyone.
The Xiaomi Mi MIX Alpha is referred to as a “concept smartphone” by the company. There is also a good reason why Xiaomi ended up choosing the Mi MIX Alpha name, instead of the Mi MIX 4.
“Surround Display” & 180.6-percent screen-to-body ratio
The Mi MIX Alpha is completely different than its predecessors, and every other phone on the market. This device features the so-called “Surround Display”. Its display goes all around the phone. The vast majority of the device’s front, back, and sides are covered by that display.
The only non-display parts of the phone are its bezels, the very top and bottom sides, and a camera strip on the back. Xiaomi says that if they had to calculate screen-to-body ratio, it would be 180.6-percent. That is just… unlike anything else on the market.
Considering that its display wraps all around the phone, it is curved, of course. Very thin bezels are visible above and below the display. Three cameras can be found on the back, and are vertically-aligned. Xiaomi even used titanium as a build material for the Mi MIX Alpha.
The Mi MIX Alpha’s display is pressure-sensitive, and all the buttons you need are still on the side. Instead of the body, though, they’re shown on the display itself.
Some of you may wonder where is the selfie camera located? Well, on the back. Considering that the vast majority of this phone’s body is its display, you can simply flip the phone around in order to take selfies. The back of the phone is also used as a display, therefore you can utilize the phone’s rear-facing camera for that purpose.
A 108-megapixel camera is placed on the back of this phone. This is Samsung’s sensor we’re looking at here, the ISOCELL Bright HMX. This camera sensor was announced last month, for those of you who are keeping track.
The Mi MIX Alpha is in small scale production at the moment & has a crazy price tag
Xiaomi noted, during its press conference, that mass production for the device is still not possible. Xiaomi’s CEO noted that the phone is in “trial small scale production”. He did note that the company will do its best to start a large scale production by the end of this year. If everything goes to plan, that is.
This phone will cost a fortune, though, as Xiaomi did announce its price tag. The company put out a 19,999 Yuan ($2,814) price tag for this handset. The company’s CEO recognized how high that is, and mentioned that the phone is only for hardcore fans, essentially.
He went on to explain that the Mi MIX Alpha represents the future, something that nobody has done thus far. The company will do its best to push the phone in large scale production and in time, lower its price tag quite a bit. Either of this very phone, or of its successors, we’ll see.
