Xiaomi's Mi Mix Alpha Is Mostly Wrapped In Screen, Featuring A 108MP Camera

Xiaomi has always pushed its Mi Mix phones to boundaries of displays and form factors, starting with the original model which kicked of the war of bezels to the notchless Mi Mix 3 released in 2018. Now, as “waterfall” screens are coming close with extremely curved edges, the Chinese phone maker unveils the Mi Mix Alpha.

Exceptional screen and camera

The smartphone has a “surround screen” that wraps completely around the handset to the point where it joins the camera module on the rear. The result effect is a smartphone which is mostly made of screen, featuring status icons on the side like battery level and network signal. Also on the side of the device, there are pressure-sensitive volume buttons. According to Xiaomi, the phone has over 180% screen-to-body ratio.

The Mix Alpha takes advantage of the new 108MP camera sensor from Samsung, which Xiaomi co-developed. Like its other recent high-resolution sensors, Samsung combines pixels into 2x2 squares to deliver better light sensitivity in low-light environments, resulting in 27MP photos.

While we haven’t got to experience this technology in the real device, the 1/1.33-inch sensor is exceptionally large for a smartphone, hence the Mix Alpha is expected to have great light-taking capability. In addition, the phone doesn’t need a selfie cam as you just have to turn the smartphone around, use the rear area of the screen as a viewfinder, and then you have a 108MP selfie lens.

Additionally, the ISOCELL Bright sensor means the phone will be able to capture 6K videos, that’s a resolution of 6016x3384 pixels, at 30 frames per second.

Other specs

Regarding other specifications, the Mi Mix Alpha is powered by the Snapdragon 855+ chipset, which means it is 5G-capable, along with 12GB of RAM, 512GB of internal storage, 4,050mAh battery, and 40W wired fast-charging. Hopefully, the battery is enough to power the unusually large screen on this phone.

Beside the 108MP lens, the Mi Mix Alpha will house a 20MP wide-angle camera along with a 12MP depth sensor featuring 2x zoom on the rear.

Price and launch date

The Mi Mix Alpha is described as a “concept smartphone” and Xiaomi won’t mass-produce it, at least in the near future. The phone, which will go into production at a small scale, will probably be launched on December 18 at a price of Rs 199,675 (19,999 yuan).

Xiaomi also called the original Mi Mix a concept phone and sold it in small quantities, followed by the Mi Mix 2 in a larger scale.

One of the first impressions of this phone probably includes extremely high price, possibly not long battery life, and concerning durability, privacy, and accidental touch. But just look at the phone before raising all those concerns.