Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha Is Wrapped In Screen, Costs $2,800

Xiaomi has just announced that it is releasing a new concept smartphone that has a display as wide as the ones found in upcoming foldable smartphones like Huawei’s Mate X, but it doesn’t fold. The new handset, called the Mi Mix Alpha, features what the company calls a “Surround Screen” which, basically, is a screen that wraps around the front, sides and back of the device.

In a blog, Xiaomi proudly stated that the Mi Mix Alpha has an “astonishing” 180.6 percent screen-to-body ratio which, according to Ars Technica, sounds wrong. The screen-to-body ratio measures the size of the display in relation to the front of the device. Xiaomi’s calculation doesn’t seem to follow that rule, but instead measures the total screen estate against the whole device.

The 180.6 percent screen-to-body ratio means that the device is almost entirely display, with a little space left for other things at the back. The front side has very thin bezels at the top and bottom sides, and uses what Xiaomi claims to be brand-new display acoustic technology to do away with the traditional earpiece and proximity sensor needed when taking or making calls on the phone.

The phone doesn’t have traditional physical side buttons for power and volume control, but uses virtual buttons for those functions. The tech company claims that the sides of the phone are pressure sensitive and make use of a linear motor to simulate the touch of real buttons.

The photos shown on the announcement blog reveal that the phone doesn’t have a front camera. Instead, a huge 108MP camera, situated at the camera strip located at the back of the phone, takes selfies. This is done with help from the back display, which shows how users look like when taking photos, effectively doing what a selfie camera does.

Xiaomi said the Mi Mix Alpha is powered by a Snapdragon 855+ SoC and supports 5G. It has 12GB of RAM and 512GB of UFS3.0 storage. It is powered by a 4,050 mAh battery and comes with a standard 40W wired fast charger.

Some might worry about the device’s durability, considering that the device is almost entirely display and that it has a $2,800 price tag. Xiaomi says the device is made of titanium alloy, ceramics and sapphire to make sure that it doesn’t break easily. Xiaomi will start mass producing the device at the end of December.