Would You Want A Cool Bezel-Free Smartphone From China?

Mi Mix Alpha

Oh it looks like there’s a new phone in the market and some say it’s better than the iPhone. Xiaomi, considered the “Apple of China”, recently launched its latest smartphone called the Mi Mix!Watch out competitors. It sure looks amazing!

Expected to be released on the 4th of November, the Mi Mix Alpha boasts a bezel-free feature. Get ready for an edge-to-edge, you will never miss a thing when you check your friend’s latest trip on an exotic island. Weighing 209 g and with a dimension of 158.8 x 81.9 x 7.9 mm, the phone’s 6.4-inch screen is around 91 percent of the front surface area.

So where will you find its selfie camera? Unlike the ones from popular smartphones, you’ll find it at the bottom. Starck’s involvement included setting the high-level direction and later guided the team in the phone’s looks.

Another feature that the Mi Mix is proud of is its insane battery life. With a 4,400 mAh battery, it could get through an estimated day and a half without charging it. It has a 256 gigs of storage and 6GB RAM. The model only comes in black color. The Mi Mix is a product of the company’s collaboration with Philippe Starck, a famed French designer.

Source: MI via YouTube

So if you’re in need of a new smartphone, you may consider buying this phone for only $590. Unfortunately, it won’t be available on the US market (or any other market at all) once released. Jai Mani, Xiaomi India’s product head explained in a Reddit thread why this is the case:

“The answer is limited quantity mostly, but it is a bit out there in terms of design. Will people accept having the selfie camera on the bottom? What about the edge detection? ETC. It may sound trivial, but selfies are incredibly important in China.

 

However, we did want to show that it’s not a fake phone.

 

It’s still a concept so I don’t think it really makes sense to launch it in other markets. Also we’re still a really small team in India. We have to consider each product very very carefully given our limited resources.

 

After sales and certification are the primary reasons. Also shipping time/cost is another smaller one. I think there are potentially some ways around these issues, such as being up front about support and shipping times, but it’s not completely clear on how to do it.

 

The other complication is the manual and labelling. Some countries have pretty specific requirements on both (need to list screen size in centimeters, local price, various lab ratings like SAR value, etc.).

Maybe having a friend in China may help you with that minor problem then?

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