Surround display Xiaomi calls the technique used in the Mi Mix Alpha. The concept smartphone has a display that almost completely encloses the device. Only on the back is a narrow strip, which is not a screen. Two different apps can run on the front and back. By turning the smartphone you can switch between them.
The side panels are also part of the rotating display. The user can display status information such as the network signal, battery status, time, date and the like. In addition, the page area can be used to display messages.
On the other side, on the side of the display, there is a pressure-sensitive area in conjunction with a linear motor to give users haptic feedback. On this page are also the areas for volume control. A special loudspeaker technology should be built directly into the display in order to be able to telephone with the device in the normal way.
When operating the Mi Mix Alpha, the user will have to be very careful, so that no unwanted functions are triggered. Also a falling down of the smartphone should rather be avoided, otherwise display damage is to be expected. The manufacturer assures to have installed a special recognition, which should register unwanted touches.
The Mi Mix Alpha uses Samsung’s 108 megapixel sensor, designed with Xiaomi. The individual pixels are 0.8 μm in size, the sensor has a size of 1 / 1.33 inches, which is quite large for a smartphone sensor.
Four pixels can be combined to one, resulting in images with a resolution of 27 megapixels. In this way, sharper and better exposed photos with few artifacts in bad light to succeed. The camera should be able to record videos in 6K (6,016 x 3,384 pixels) with a maximum of 30 fps.
In addition, the smartphone has a 20-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, which can also be used for macro shooting. In addition, there is a tele-camera with 2x optical zoom and a resolution of 12 megapixels. A front camera is missing, the user can simply use the main camera for everything when needed, by turning the smartphone for self-portraits.
The smartphone runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855+ and has 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of flash memory. The smartphone has a 4,050 mAh battery; to the battery life of the manufacturer made no statements. The all-round display will need a lot of energy, so that despite the large battery may only reach a duration of one day.
Xiaomi wants to produce the Mi Mix Alpha in small series at the end of December 2019 and sell it in China shortly thereafter at a price of around 2,600 euros. It is not yet decided if a large mass production will be recorded.
