Xiaomi‘s Mi Mix Alpha shook the smartphone industry for its unique and futuristic design when it was first unveiled. Although it was a concept device that never saw release, the Chinese tech giant seems to be holding onto the design inspirations as new patents reveal a handset with a similar waterfall display and even an under screen camera.
Back in September 2019, Xiaomi had filed a design patent with the Chinese Patent Office, CNIPA, regarding a new UI of a smartphone. This patent was published on 3rd April 2020 and has now also been included in the Global Design Database of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office). This new UI reveals a smartphone with a waterfall display on either side, in other words, a curved edge display that completely covers the sides.
Editor’s Pick: Xiaomi might struggle in 2020 due to intense Competition and COVID-19 pandemic
However, this curved screen isn’t as bold as the Mi Mix Alpha that even covered a majority of the back panel as well. The display on the sides can show genera status icons like battery indicator and network strength on the home screen. But when you use an app, certain operating controls appear in the same area. For example, imagine opening a media player and watching a video/movie, will have an option like pause, forward or skip functioned on the sides.
Notably, the chins and notch on the patented Xiaomi design are also negligible. This also proves that there is no punch hole camera on the front or any that is visible. Thus, it highly suggests that the smartphone is likely to feature a camera house under the display. The company did showcase the technology last year, and its improved and commercial iteration should be seen in the future. Unfortunately, it is unknown if Xiaomi will ever launch such a smartphone, and might just be covering bases for future UI functionality for a smartphone with curved edges
UP NEXT: Redmi K30 Pro Zoom Edition 12GB RAM + 512GB version official for ¥4499 (~$634)
(Via)
