Xiaomi is no stranger to distant concept phones. In a new teaser, the Chinese phone maker is taking things to the extreme with a concept appliance that has cascading edges that wrap around the four sides of the device.
Apparently, the concept is so futuristic that Xiaomi couldn’t even give it a proper name, but in many ways it represents an evolution of 2019 Mi Mix Alpha Concept. Xiaomi says the curved glass, which folds down 88 degrees on each side of the phone, “has practically exceeded the technological limits of glass production”. While this statement certainly seems impressive, it can be a little exaggerated. The sides of the phone have beautiful rounded edges, but it seems that Xiaomi has failed to get the glass to curl around the corners of the phone, resulting in small diagonal cutouts in each corner of the screen.
Another impact of these cascading edges is that, as there is glass everywhere, there is really no room for doors, so Xiaomi did not include any. Instead, Xiaomi says the traditional volume control, headphone speaker and on / off button can be replaced by innovations like an integrated pressure sensor, flexible acoustic film and ultra-thin piezoelectric ceramics.
With this concept, Xiaomi is really promoting the idea of a unibody phone without doors and, although it is a foregone conclusion that the industry will get there at some point, I don’t think people are ready for portless phones yet– now or even in the years to come. In addition to portless phones posing a major problem when it comes to repairs, they will also need a new generation of accessories to keep them running. That includes Xiaomi’s stylish long-range wireless charger, which the company claims to be able to connect devices a few meters away (instead of millimeters as we have now). But the problem is that Xiaomi’s long-range wireless charger is huge and currently can produce only about 5 watts of power compared to the 15 watts or more we get from Qi wireless chargers.
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However, one thing I like is the way Xiaomi uses the curved glass and screen to display notifications, battery levels and signal strength on the side of the device. Not only does it look very smooth, but if you’re going to bother bending glass like that, it’s better to use the added space for something. It is a bold statement from Xiaomi at a time when Samsung – which was once one of the biggest supporters of the curvy glass screen – recently switched to flat screens with the Galaxy S21 and S21 +.
Xiaomi claims that this concept is the result of 46 different patents, so it is clear that the company is thinking big with its latest phone concept. And while so many concept devices exist only as renderings, according to Xiaomi PR, there is at least one prototype of this phone working, which suggests that one day it may be available for purchase.