Xiaomi shows how future 5G smartphones look like with MIX Alpha

Xiaomi Corp unveiled its latest concept phone, the Mi MIX Alpha, on Tuesday, as the Chinese smartphone vendor tries to show the world how future 5G phones will look.

At the same launch event, the Beijing-based company also unveiled a 5G handset model, the Mi 9 Pro 5G, with a starting price of 3,699 yuan ($520.6), the most affordable 5G handset in the country so far.

Lei Jun, founder and CEO of Xiaomi, said MIX Alpha, priced from 19,999 yuan, is the company’s latest pioneering effort to push forward technological boundaries and show what future 5G smartphones will look like.

The Mi MIX Alpha showcases an innovative Surround Screen with a screen-to-body ratio of more than 180.6 percent. That is to say, when Mi MIX Alpha lights up – the front, side, and back of the phone are almost entirely on display.

Xiaomi said in a statement that behind the Surround Display is a series of groundbreaking technologies that required a new method of device assembly. Unlike traditional smartphone assembly methods, Mi MIX Alpha’s internal assembly is first carried out, while its display layer, touch panel, and protection layers are laminated one-by-one.

All display component layers are compiled in that order to achieve high curvature Surround Display design, so internal stress caused by bending the display layers can be released layer by layer. To achieve a smooth and flat surface, Mi MIX Alpha also uses a durable protective layer that optimizes the screen stack structure, the company added.