Xiaomi kicked off its ambitious Mix line back in 2016. It was among the first phones to offer a true all-screen smartphone without a hole-punch or pill-shaped cutout for selfies.
Instead, these phones tucked the camera beneath the display. The last phone in the series, the Mix 4, launched in 2021. And since then? Nothing.
While Xiaomi didn’t continue the line, a new rumor suggests that the company is still refining the tech behind it.
Xiaomi Mix 5 soon?
According to the reliable Digital Chat Station on Weibo, the underlying tech has quietly been “iterating”. This likely refers to the under-display camera (UDC) system.
DCS further claims that the current iteration is “at the highest level in the industry” and that it will be “mass-produced on due course.” The tipster also gave an oddly specific “98.3721%” possibility for it to happen.
The number could be a cryptic precision DCS is known for. But if anything, the leak suggests Xiaomi isn’t done chasing the Mix dream just yet.
UDC is tough to perfect
For under-display cameras to work, light needs to pass through the display and reach the camera sensor beneath. But most display panels aren’t great at transmitting light.
To make it work, manufacturers have to tweak the pixel layout, essentially making part of the display more transparent. The result is often a noticeable reduction in pixel density over that area, which creates a “screen door” effect.
Back when Xiaomi launched the Mix 4, the UDC tech had gone through three iterations. The company introduced a “micro-drill” pixel arrangement to reduce light blockage and eliminate discoloration in the camera zone (what Xiaomi calls the CUP, or Camera Under Panel, area).
The early versions of the tech dropped the OLED resolution in the camera area from 400PPI to 200PPI, but Xiaomi managed to keep it at 400PPI in the Mix 4 to solve the screen door effect.
Still, the camera performance was just… fine. ZTE has arguably gone further with UDC innovation and has largely resolved the screen window issue. But even its latest efforts haven’t fully matched the image quality of a standard front-facing camera.
Now, with signs that Xiaomi is refining the technology again, the big question is whether it can finally close that gap.
Let’s see what Xiaomi actually delivers.
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