Leaked photos of what is supposed to be Xiaomi’s alleged foldable smartphone just appeared on the Chinese social media site Weibo (via MyFixGuide). The photos show a person on a subway wearing a large folding device, which is clearly running Xiaomi’s customized MIUI 12 Android interface. This suggests that the device is a prototype foldable phone or foldable tablet from Xiaomi. The device in the photos is clearly not a final product, with rather large bezels and creases and, mainly, no front camera. The latter, in particular, may be due to the status of the device’s prototype, or less likely, Xiaomi has implemented selfie camera technology under the screen on its apparently plastic screen. On the left side of the device, there is a visible slot that resembles a pen holder.
If this is a foldable smartphone and not a tablet, it may be the biggest foldable phone we’ve ever seen, because at least in its current state, it appears to be bigger even than an iPad mini. The device also doesn’t look like Xiaomi foldable smartphone patent in October. The latest patent showed a foldable phone more like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Huawei Mate X foldable.
In related news, Xiaomi recently teamed up with other Chinese companies like Huawei to get blacklisted by the US administration, so whether this foldable device hits the market or not, American citizens will have a hard time getting it.
In any case, what do you think of a big folding phone like that? Or do you believe that this is not a phone and that Xiaomi may be about to launch the world’s first foldable Android tablet? All we can do today is to speculate, but seeing that the Chinese giant does have a working device now, not just a render or prototype sketch, strongly implies that we will finally have a foldable MIUI device this year.