It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Xiaomi are currently one of the most important smartphone companies around. They have an extremely strong lineup of devices, from budget devices, to mid-rangers, to top-of-the-line flagships. The current crown jewel of the company is the Mi MIX Alpha, a stunning device, but instead we’re going to discuss a possible Mi MIX Alpha 2 based on these recently released leaks.
LetsGoDigital has discovered that Xiaomi has filed a series of patents with the Chinese patent office for a smartphone that consists entirely of a full screen surface, with no camera bar to speak of and even narrower screen edges.
According to LetsGoDigital, Xiaomi filed this series of design patents for a smartphone that consists entirely of screen surface about a year ago. It took until December 13, 2019 before these patents were approved and published in the WIPO Design database for worldwide protection of this design.
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While we did bring up the Mi MIX Alpha, this user interface is for a smartphone with a full surround display AND under-screen cameras on both the front and rear side of the device. This phone has ultra thin bezels at the top and bottom as well as no physical buttons.
All graphical user interface pictures presented in this publication are from Xiaomi.
The screen itself does not run through the bottom or top, seeing how the bottom offers space for the device’s stereo speakers and a USB Type-C port. The microphone is placed on top, along with nothing else. Outside of these details, the patent mainly focuses on the details of the GUI design, and all the screenshots are in full colour which indicates that Xiaomi may already have the device in the works.
The description shows that the screen icons on the side of the device will change based on the content / application shown on the main screen. For example, general status icons such as the battery indicator and network signal strength can be displayed on the right-hand side, while the left side offers space for displaying time, weather, etc.
In addition, a simple swipe movement will make it possible to add icons to the sides yourself for things like cameras and music controls. This way you can customize the phone and its functions to suit your needs. On the right side of the smartphone, a virtual button is also provided that functions as a system shortcut and as the power button.
While the Mi MIX Alpha is certainly a stunning display of Xiaomi’s engineering capabilities, it’s also very similar to the first Mi MIX in that it’s an expensive concept device that’s meant to show off something extremely new and fresh. Now that it’s out of the way, it may open the doors toward a camera bar-less Mi MIX Alpha 2, which is where this UI might apply.
Whatever the case is with these patents, it certainly leaves us quite excited for Xiaomi‘s future prospects. We’re looking forward to seeing what the Chinese giants can conjure up, and if they’re anywhere near as interesting as the Mi MIX Alpha, then we’re absolutely on board.
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