The Xiaomi Mi Mix line of smartphones have a history of pushing the boundaries of phone design. The first model launched in 2016 and it was one of the first phones to feature super-skinny bezels for a 90+ screen-to-body ratio.
Now Xiaomi is introducing the Mi Mix 4, a smartphone with a ceramic body, an AMOLED display, an under-screen camera, and support for fast wireless charging and even faster wired charging. It goes on sale in China August 16 for about $770 and up.
Xiaomi says calls its under-display camera system a “Camera Under Panel” or CUP design. The section of screen above the camera can display 400 pixels per inch, making the camera “virtually invisible.” But Xiaomi’s hardware and software allow the 20MP camera to capture images through the the smartphone’s display.
Speaking of the display, it’s a 6.67″ 2400 x 1080 pixel curved AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate, 480 Hz touch sampling rate, and support for 10-bit color.
The phone’s body is made from ceramic material baked at 1,400 degrees Celsius. According to Xiaomi, the material is durable, but 30% lighter than… something. Metal, I suppose? Plastic, possibly?
On the back of the phone you’ll find a three-camera system that includes:
- 108MP primary camera with 4-in-1 pixel binning for capturing more light in 27MP images
- 13MP 120 degree wide-angle camera
- 8MP periscopic telephoto camera with 5X optical zoom and support for up to 50X digital zoom
The Mi Mix 4 has a 4,500 mAh battery and support for 120W fast wired charging and 50W fast wireless charging.
It also supports Xiaomi’s “Point to Connect” system which allows you to point your phone at compatible smart home products (made by Xiaomi, of course) to pair them with the phone. This takes place over a 500 MHz ultra wide band connection.
The smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ processor and features LPDDR5-6400 memory and UFS 3.1 storage. It has stereo speakers with Harman Kardon audio, support for NFC and an IR blaster.
Xiaomi offers gray, white, and black color options and the phone measures 162.65 x 75.35 x 8.02mm and weighs 225 grams. It will be available in 8GB/128GB, 8GB/256GB, 12GB/256GB, and 12GB/512GB memory and storage configurations.
via @xiaomi
Typical Xiaomi problems, especially if you live in the U.S. 1. The radios do not overlap the U.S. bandplan. 2. You are stuck with the MiUI OS overlay. 3. While you will get long-term security patches, don’t ever expect to get a major OS version update. 5. In most countries getting service is next to impossible. Don’t get me wrong, I have owned and loved Xiaomi phones for years, when I was living in Asia – and today Xiaomi has become the largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world. But Xiaomi has chosen to ignore the huge U.S. market, and I don’t see them changing that any time soon. That’s a shame. The U.S. sorely needs a Xiaomi-like phone manufacturer that is not Carrier-locked.