Xiaomi Mi 7 Leaks With Glass Back, MWC 2018 Announcement Expected

Xiaomi is expected to launch the Mi 7 flagship Android smartphone this year and it looks like it’s first official unveiling will be during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) next month. A sketchy leak may have also revealed that the Xiaomi Mi 7 will arrive with a glass back.

The alleged leaked render of the Xiaomi Mi 7 first surfaced online through the Nigerian website Naijatechguide. The image shows the backside of the handset seemingly confirming that it will have a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and a pair of cameras. Rumors on a dual-camera setup has been brewing for some time now, so seeing it in this render isn’t that all too surprising. What’s really intriguing here is that the Mi 7 appears to have a glass back.

Back in September 2017, Xiaomi officially joined the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), which is a worldwide technology consortium that’s trying to promote wider adoption of the Qi wireless charging standard. It’s possible that the primary reason why Xiaomi decided to put a glass back on the Mi 7 is because it may support wireless charging.

Apple also joined the WPC back in February 2017 and it later released the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X, all with glass backs, later that same year. All three of Apple’s newest iPhones support Qi wireless charging and it does seem like the Mi 7 will be the same.

The leaked render for the Xiaomi Mi 7 also shows that it has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. For those who may have already forgotten, the Mi 5 and the Mi 6 both had front-facing fingerprint scanners. Gizmo China speculates that the Mi 7 may have an 18:9 aspect ratio display with thinner bezels. Xiaomi may have decided to put the fingerprint scanner on the back since there won’t be any room for it up front.

As for the Xiaomi Mi 7 specs, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun confirmed last month that Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 processor will be in the Mi 7. The device is also rumored to feature a 6.01-inch display and will have 6GB of RAM. On the software side of things, the Mi 7 will likely run Android Nougat or Oreo with Xiaomi’s MIUI 9 skin running on top, according to Android Headlines.

So when will the Xiaomi Mi 7 launch? The official MWC 2018 page has listed Xiaomi as an exhibitor. Android Central believes that the company may announce its latest flagship during the event, which will take place from Feb. 26 until March 1 in Barcelona, Spain.