There have been multiple 3D smartphones in the past, however, none of them took off. Hence, major companies did not try investing in it. But now, out of the blue, Xiaomi has patented a design for such a handset.

According to LetsGoDigital, Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software applied for this design patent with The Hague International Design Bulletin, part of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) last month (January 2021). But surprisingly, the application for this patent was approved within a month and its documentation was published on February 5, 2021.

The design showcases a smartphone with no notch, punch-hole, or pop-up module. Hence, it could feature an under-display camera. Further, on the back, the device houses a total of four cameras, one on each corner.

Whereas, the right side includes a power key along with a volume rocker and the left side features a SIM card slot. Lastly, the bottom of the handset houses a USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and holes for a speaker as well as a microphone.

As far as those four cameras are concerned, they can be used for 3D photography and videography. Like we mentioned in the beginning, there were many phones in the past like HTC Evo 3D and LG Optimus 3D with similar functionalities. But they did not succeed. In fact, 3D has been now replaced by AR and VR in entertainment.

Therefore, we don’t see Xiaomi launching a 3D smartphone in the near future.

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Xiaomi is known for launching out of the world concept phones and patenting weird designs. The company has done the former through the Mi Mix Alpha and the latter via n-number of patents. For instance, we recently saw a smartphone design with a detachable camera layout. Today, yet another patent appears online and this time it’s the wrap-around display, again.

Xiaomi is not new to patenting smartphone designs with a surround display. The latest patent, which was applied by Xiaomi and approved by WIPO’s Hague International Design System, also has one. LetsGoDigital has unearthed this patent, and as it says, the design is reminiscent of an older patent.

If you recall, one of the company’s patents having a surround display with a pop-up camera at the top got published recently. Well, this one seems to have similar schematics but the difference is a display with a notch. That is, this design doesn’t have any mechanical parts but has a wide notch in the front to accommodate selfie shooters and sensors.

At the bottom, everything from Speaker, Primary Microphone, 3.5mm audio jack, Type-C port placements are the same. However, at the top, the pop-up is missing(obviously) and the power key and secondary mic are at the left instead of the right. The display, which wraps around the device, has a notch like the recent iPhones.

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It’s worth noting that the 3D renders show that the selfie arrangement is projecting slightly up(Model 2 from Image) from the display area. While the reason is unknown, this could just be to keep the phone slimmer or maybe grab the energy of the impact when fallen upright down. Either way, these are just speculations from my side.

Considering the Mi Mix Alpha didn’t even enter mass production, we can’t expect this to debut as a commercial design anytime soon. Meanwhile, Xiaomi is finally figuring out to launch a foldable device in 2021.

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Xiaomi’s Mi MIX series is known for its bezel-less design. Unfortunately, the company has not released a new model in a very long time. However, it has patented a wide variety of devices with full-screen design in the past few months. Now, yet another new design emerges with a unique slider display implementation.

As usual, this Xiaomi patent was first spotted by LetsGoDigtial. As per the publication, Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software filed this patent with the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) and the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office). It got approved and published on October 29, 2020.

According to the documentation, this design includes a slider display similar to the Mi MIX 3 5G. But unlike that phone, this handset’s display covers the front and runs along the bottom side up until half of its back.

EDITOR’S PICK: Xiaomi patents a smartphone design with surround display and pop-up cameras

Hence, the only places without a screen on this design are the top, sides, and the top portion of the rear panel. This design is somewhat similar to the Xiaomi AI Super Camera smartphone patent from last year but with a magnetic slider.

Since this design’s display continues from the front to the back from the bottom side, it uses a roller mechanism inside the slider to slide down the front panel to reveal the selfie camera, an ambient light sensor, a distance sensor, a dot projector, and the receiver. This slider can also be moved by voice command.

In other words, this new Xiaomi patent is a combination of slider, rollable, and full-screen smartphone. That said, we don’t think the Chinese smartphone maker will ever release such a device for the commercial market but it may showcase it as a concept like the Mi MIX Alpha.

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Lastly, the renders included in this article are created by an industrial designer called Sarang Sheth, in collaboration with LetsGoDigtial. Also, it is worth noting that the rear camera setup from the Mi 10T Pro is just for reference.

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The post Xiaomi’s new phone patent is a combination of slider, rollable, and full-screen designs appeared first on Gizmochina.

Last year, Xiaomi shocked the world by unveiling Mi MIX Alpha, a concept smartphone with a surround display. This device never made into mas-production and therefore, it did not hit the shelves although the company had plans to sell this phone in a limited quantity in China. Now, more than a year later, a Xiaomi smartphone design patent with similar looks has emerged.

This new Xiaomi patent was unearthed by LetsGoDigital. According to the publication, the company applied it with The Hague Bulletin, part of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office). The documentation for the same got published on December 18, 2020.

These documents include 16 sketches detailing the design of a smartphone with a 360° surround display. But unlike the Mi MIX Alpha, this design does not include a vertical frame on the rear. Instead, it features a wide pop-up module at the top housing a triple camera setup accompanied by a dual-LED flash.

The top of the handset also includes the power key and a hole for the secondary microphone. Whereas, the bottom part of the device features a USB Type-C port, a speaker grille, a primary microphone hole, and even a 3.5mm headphone jack.

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Having said that, we don’t see Xiaomi releasing a consumer phone with a such design in near future. Because the firm did not even sell the first generation product and this model comes with pop-up cameras, which all the OEMs have been avoiding now.

UP NEXT: Xiaomi patents a smartphone design with an all-around screen and a huge 108MP sensor

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Last month, OPPO X 2021 was unveiled as the world’s first rollable concept smartphone. On the other hand, LG has also confirmed to release such a device next year as part of its ‘Explorer Project’. Now, a Xiaomi smartphone design patent with a similar form factor has been published.

Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software filed this patent with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) at the end of 2019. The patent titled ‘Terminal with flexible screen’ later got approved on October 29, 2020, and even got published in the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) database.

According to patent documents, this smartphone design includes a rollable flexible panel and a secondary normal display at the back. The rollable screen present in this phone can be extended by up to 200% in width. Therefore, the device can be also used as a tablet.

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Also, the documents say that these displays will be activated based on what side of the phone is facing the user like Microsoft Surface Duo. However, it also has an option to use both the screens at the same time.

Further, since the patent is all about the user experience and durability, the design sketches do not showcase anything else. Hence, LetsGoDigital, the publication that found this patent partnered with Concept Creator (Jermaine Smit) to create 3D renders.

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Since the original sketches are barebone, the designer has added a vertically aligned triple camera setup along with an LED flash inspired by Mi Mix Alpha. Additionally, the renders also include the ‘Xiaomi’ branding.

Having said that, we think that there’s a probability of Xiaomi showcasing such a smartphone as a concept. But we are not sure if it will ever end up in consumer’s hands.

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