Xiaomi Reveals Entirely Port-free Mi MIX Series Concept Phone with Quad-curved Display
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi on Friday revealed its first concept smartphone with a quad-curved display that wraps around all edges of the device, with the company touting the sleek feature as a creation from major technological breakthrough in glass production.
Xiaomi has also eliminated all ports and physical buttons in the bezel-free concept phone, signifying another step towards a “truly port-free unibody smartphone future,” the company said in a press release.
Instead, the device is equipped with pressure-sensitive virtual buttons and ultra-thin piezoelectric ceramics, a flexible film display acoustic technology that replaces speakers. The new phone also supports eSIM chips, high-power wireless charging and features the company’s third-generation under-display camera, which convincingly hides the front-facing camera under the phone’s screen without ruining the edge-to-edge display effect.
The phone’s 88-degree quad curve waterfall design, which is developed from “countless breakthroughs in glass bending and laminating technology,” sees the screen extending over the top and bottom edges of the phone, in addition to the left and right edges.
“Polishing a piece of such hyper-curved glass with a deep 88° bend on four sides requires self-developed glass processing equipment, hot bending under 800 degrees Celsius high temperature and pressure, four different polishing tools and up to more than ten complex polishing procedures” the company said, adding that Xiaomi filed 46 innovative patents during its development.
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A Xiaomi spokesperson told Pandaily that this phone does actually exist and staff members have tried out the device themselves.
In a video posted on Weibo, the concept phone shows incoming notifications on the left and right edges, and status bar icons are placed on the right edge. On its back, it has a rectangular camera set-up with a single camera and a flash.
Pandaily understands that the new phone is part of Xiaomi’s highly-anticipated Mi MIX series. The phone could be the most expensive phone from Xiaomi, with founder and CEO Lei Jun implying that a device from the series could retail for 10,000 yuan ($1,544) in a Weibo post on Wednesday.
The unveiling of the new phone follows Xiaomi’s announcement last Friday of its Mi Air Charge Technology, a true wireless charging system that enables users to remotely charge electronic devices without any cables or wireless charging stands.
The company also launched its flagship Mi 11 in China in late December. The new phone has a 6.81 inch-display and is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 chipset.
