No edge, no ports: Xiaomi teases phone with waterfall display

Official press release from Xiaomi

Shortly after we posted the news on our German edition, we received a press release from Xiaomi regarding the smartphone! This concept smartphone does not have an official name yet. In the release, Xiaomi reveals that the edges of the device fold by 88 degrees. As mentioned earlier, the phone lacks ports and buttons and makes use of wireless charging and pressure sensors.

Take a look at the video.

Xiaomi attempted to launch a similarly bold concept once before with the Mi Mix Alpha. However, the phone with 360-degree display didn't make it to retail in late 2019 due to manufacturing issues. Xiaomi's second attempt is much more discreet, but could also face similar problems.

That's because in the video, the display appears to wrap around the phone to the point where there would barely be room left for a USB-C port to charge the phone. However, with wireless charging of phones becoming more popular and faster, and Xiaomi even unveiling wireless charging technology with a few meters of range the other day, Xiaomi could actually do quite well without the charging port. For a future iPhone, such a strategy is also speculated.

On the back of the phone, there is also a single one camera, whose design is somewhat reminiscent of the 108-megapixel camera on the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro. That aside, Xiaomi of course leaves open the question of how robust a display without edges would be. In case of hard impacts, the energy would immediately go into the display and not be cushioned by a case. Moreover, mistyping is already a problem with current phones that have rounded display edges.

When and if Xiaomi will show its new concept in more detail or even bring it to market is unclear so far. For now, we will therefore focus on the unveiling of the Mi 11 for Europe, which will take place on February 8.