Xiaomi files patent for smartphone with wraparound display

Xiaomi filed a patent for two smartphone devices; one with a wraparound screen, and another that wraps around both vertical edges of the devices, similar to the Mi Mix Alpha.


Update: Xiaomi has released a prototype of the Mi Mix Alpha to several high-ranking YouTubers. A hands-on look at the innovative phone with wraparound display can be found here.


The documents were filed by the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO), as well as the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA).

Xiaomi submitted the documents at the end of 2018. However, the designs were only approved and added to the WIPO and CNIPA databases on 10 January 2020.

Xiaomi’s latest innovative designs

Xiaomi phone with double-sided flexible display

The patent document is simply titled ‘Mobile phone’ and can be viewed here. It contains eleven images in total which shows both smartphone models with a flexible screen.

The team at Let’s Go Digital was able to uncover the documents and create the 3D renders used in the article.

Xiaomi
Image via Let’s Go Digital

The first device can best be described as a ‘double-sided’ smartphone with a full-screen device. The display extends around the left side of the device to the rear.

That means that the entire rear of the device has a screen surface; apart from the narrow band at the top where the triple-camera system is located.

This device – a simplified variant of the Mi Mix Alpha – has a thin metal frame on the right side of the device, meaning the device is only ’rounded’ at one side.

Xiaomi smartphone with continuous top-screen

Xiaomi submitted ten images for the second design. It shows a flexible screening extended to the rear of the phone with the curved edge going over the top, as opposed to around the side as is the case with the first model.

Moreover, the device looks very stylish and consists almost entirely of screen-surface. Furthermore, a triple camera system is integrated in the screen, by means of a punch-hole camera setup.

Xiaomi
Image via Let’s Go Digital

The frame border at the bottom is slightly wider at the rear than at the front, possibly to make way for under-the-screen sensors. No buttons are visible, giving the phone a sleek appearance.

Xiaomi ‘wraparound screen’ release date and cost

Whether these innovative devices will be launched in 2020 still remains to be seen.

Samsung and Huawei paved the way for foldable screens, with the Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X. Other brands are joining the race as well; perhaps Xiaomi would take that into consideration and speed up the manufacturing process.

Foldable screens are still very much an expensive luxury item at this point, but industry experts predict that the rates will drop drastically as more foldable devices enter the market.

That side, when Samsung launched the Galaxy Fold in South Africa with a pre-order price tag of R44 000, the device sold on within its first day. Here’s hoping that Xiamoi would also consider adding a budget foldable device to the mix.

Read More
Source: https://www.thesouthafrican.com/

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *