The original Mi Mix from Xiaomi started the all-screen and no-bezel smartphone wars – no wonder, Xiaomi called it a concept phone back then. The Mi Mix was produced in very limited numbers, and after a year, it was replaced by an even more practical Mi Mix 2. On Tuesday, Xiaomi launched the Mi Mix Alpha – a concept all-screen and no-bezel smartphone like no other. Like the Mi Mix was at one point of time. Like the Mi Mix, the Mi Mix Alpha will also be sold in limited numbers, possibly only in China.  

The Mi Mix Alpha is an all-screen and no-bezel smartphone like no other. It’s not a foldable like the Samsung Galaxy Fold or the Huawei Mate X, but it’s as futuristic – even more, some would say. It costs way more than the Fold and Mate X as well. The concept Mi Mix Alpha from Xiaomi will sell for a staggeringly high price of CNY19,999 (roughly Rs 2 lakh).  

Mi Mix Alpha - literally all screen

So, what’s the fuss all about, you ask. Well, the Mi Mix Alpha has a wrap-around display – that starts at one end, wraps around one side, and meets a vertically aligned strip at the back that holds the cameras. The Mi Mix Alpha has minimal bezels on the top and bottom and ditches the physical side controls altogether. For those in search of numbers, the “surround screen” on the Mi Mix Alpha, entails in a screen-to-body ratio of 180 per cent. It’s not even funny, this thing is literally all screen. 

With so much screen real estate, one would assume it would be fragile – remember, the Galaxy Fold – but Xiaomi says it is not. While the frame of the Mi Mix Alpha is carved out of aerospace-grade alloy, the back strip holding the cameras is made of ceramic – the cameras themselves are protected by sapphire glass. 

Mi Mix Alpha specs

With so much engineering that has gone behind making the Mi Mix Alpha, it ought to have some killer specs too – and it does. The Mi Mix Alpha packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ processor paired with 12GB of RAM and 512GB storage, and a 4,050mAh battery with 40W fast charging out-of-the-box. 

The Mi Mix Alpha is also the first smartphone in the world to pack Samsung’s 108MP ISOCELL Bright HMX image sensor – that shoots 27MP photos by default and uses software interpolation to produce high-resolution 108MP photos as and when required. This is paired with a 20MP wide-angle camera, and a 12MP telephoto camera. 

The sides of the Mi Mix Alpha are pressure-sensitive and will also display notifications. All that screen (and no bezels) also means that the Mi Mix Alpha does not have a conventional speaker. The Mi Mix Alpha instead comes uses Display Acoustic Technology for sound out. 

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