Ondrej Holzman Originally, something new, innovative, perhaps even revolutionary was expected from iPhones this year. Finally, Apple changed its strategy and we will have to wait at least another year for a brand new iPhone. However, the greater the expectations, the more the competition can manage to show. And this is exactly the case with the Chinese Xiaomi.
This week, the technological world was literally left in awe of the new Mi Mix smartphone, which Xiaomi came up with quite unexpectedly. If you were to place the hot Chinese novelty and the iPhone 7 Plus next to each other and compare their dimensions, you would get very similar parameters. But when you turn on both phones, while only the iPhone's 5,5-inch display lights up, the Mi Mix is almost an inch larger.
Edge-to-edge displays, where the device has virtually no edges, have been talked about for a long time. The so-called Some laptops are already using an edge-to-edge display, but Xiaomi is now one of the first among phones. In addition, the Mi Mix is not only impressive not only with the display, but also with the other technologies used.
Considering how innovative Xiaomi has been in the Mi Mix and how different it is from the established competition, many immediately began to argue that they would expect something similar from Apple, whose iPhone this year was characterized as rather boring in terms of progress and progress. The whole argument is not that simple, but let's focus on the Mi Mix first.
Futuristic technology
Installing a display that perfectly copies the three edges of the phone is not an easy task. The Mi Mix boasts an incredible 91,3% screen-to-body ratio, compared to the iPhone 7 Plus's 67,7%. In order to realize something like this, Xiaomi had to use several very interesting technologies.
When you put both mentioned phones next to each other, in addition to the very similar size, you will also come across the fact that the Mi Mix is virtually borderless due to the display, so there is nowhere to place, for example, the front speaker, camera or sensors. The front camera finally fit in the lower edge, also because Xiaomi used a much smaller module than other phones, but the sound, which is mainly necessary for phone calls, had to be solved differently.
Instead of today's traditional technologies, Xiaomi opted for two things that may sound a bit futuristic: piezoelectric ceramics and an ultrasonic proximity sensor. The body of the Mi Mix is ceramic, which it is in light of the latest speculation about the material of the new iPhones very interesting. However, ceramics have a much greater use here than just the material of the body as such.
Since there is no speaker on the front of the Mi Mix, Xiaomi used a DAC (digital-to-analog converter) combination, which transmits an electrical signal to the piezoelectric ceramic, which sends mechanical energy to the phone's metal frame, which then emits sound instead of a regular speaker. Similarly, Xiaomi also had to deal with the sensor that detects whether you have the phone to your ear. Instead of classic infrared rays, ultrasound is used.
So you can make a normal phone call with the Mi Mix and you can hear the other party just fine, just as the display turns off when you put it to your ear, but you don't have to have any unsightly and above all obstructing sensors and speakers on the front. Xiaomi used this precious space for a 6,4-inch display.
The only front camera had to remain, of course, it cannot be replaced with similar technologies, but Xiaomi placed it at the bottom, where the thin strip under the display remained. As for the ceramic body, the material should not only be much harder than, for example, Gorilla Glass, but above all it is radio-transparent, so all antennas can be placed anywhere and easily pass through the ceramic. The iPhone, for example, has to have unsightly plastic strips on the back due to its aluminum body. And he is not alone.
There is no courage like courage
Although Xiaomi presented the Mi Mix as a concept and above all an idea of what the phones of the future should look like, it is interesting that it will go on sale with it. It won't be anything massive, but as proof that the above-mentioned technologies are here and creating a giant display practically over the entire body of the phone is not unrealistic, that's enough. After all, there have already been several comments in which people wonder if by chance Xiaomi has not shown ahead of time what the new iPhone 8 could look like.
In connection with the next Apple phone, there is talk of larger displays, as well as ceramics, or new materials, or new technologies. Xiaomi did not mess with anything and just mixed everything together, as many promise or wish for Apple.
However, the Mi Mix should not be perceived as the Chinese burning down Apple's pond, however, it is good to add that when Phil Schiller commented on the removal of the headphone jack on the iPhone 7 as a great act of courage, many people certainly imagined such courage as a rather daring deployment of piezoelectric ceramics, which here she hasn't been yet. So if we stick to the Mi Mix as an example.
On the other hand, it should be noted that for Xiaomi, the Mi Mix is still mainly a concept. It will not sell tens of millions of units, there may be problems that come with the adoption of new technologies. This is something that Apple simply cannot afford. The latter, on the other hand, must come with a highly polished final product that, if possible, will not encounter any major problems after release. And by those, we don't exactly mean the factory ones, which is currently a big problem with seven-inch iPhones.
Looking at the Mi Mix and the iPhone 7, it may seem that Xiaomi has a lot more courage and maybe some engineers at Apple envy the Chinese that they can afford to show such a product now, but we can be sure that Apple is trying all this for closed doors. If everything was ready already this year, the iPhone 7 would have larger displays, could be more innovative. After all, the fact that the iPhone 7 Plus is practically one of the largest phones on the market, but at the same time has one of the smallest displays, is a calling card for Apple that must trouble the designers, engineers and managers in Cupertino. And if it isn't, it bothers users significantly.
Xiaomi really showed the direction the iPhone - and of course not only - could go, and that's no bad thing. But unlike Apple, at least at the moment, it's really above all showed. Apple now has a year to respond and possibly roll out everything (not necessarily the same as Xiaomi) in a big way. After all, this is a very good habit of his - to wait until the technology is ready, and then come with mass distribution.
Anyway, seeing what's possible now, it would be a shame if there was still such a small display in such a giant iPhone body next year.
[su_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/m7plA1ALkQw” width=”640″]
what manufacturing problems faced the iPhone 7 …. ?
a concept is still just a concept and not a reality, when it's flesh and blood I can talk about it.
Sorry, but this is not a concept. Find out more about it and then write here please :-)
and when it will be on the market and how much it will cost
I recommend finding a definition of the word concept.
first pitch, technical pitch?
We'll see in a month. If the Mi Mix goes on sale, Xiaomi will break the record for the shortest time between a concept and a real and stocked smartphone.
Well, China can do miracles
that phone has been around for a long time, you look at yt
I'm not saying he doesn't exist, but that we won't see him here.
at least I don't believe it, so I can't compare it to the iPhone.
http://www.startitup.sk/xiaomi-mi-mix-sposobuje-vo-svete-hotovy-osial-pocas-prveho-predaja-zmizli-vsetky-zasoby-behom-10-sekund/
Xiaomi Mi Mix is already much further - it actually exists in its final form, viz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7plA1ALkQw
wiki …. A concept or concept is an intention, idea or proposal.
see article ………… On the other hand, it should be noted that for Xiaomi, the Mi Mix is still mainly a concept.
internet cancer. full of bullshit, but to read something, right. sales start date: Xiaomi Mi Mix sales will start already on November 4, but officially only in China. Its price was set at 3 yuan for the cheaper model and 499 yuan for the more expensive one. (I copied this and it was also in CZK, but you can find something out yourself)
on the ofico website they write about the concept.
when I hold it in my hand and can try it, I can write about it.
but we probably won't see him………..
It is funny that the direction is no longer shown by Apple but by the Chinese. :))
I hope that this will bring Apple to its knees and they will finally stop playing a commercial company that has been thriving for many years from the mass sale of devices that they would not have if it were not for Jobs (and which they will never have without him) and go back to supporting professionals (=stop) become more and more full-fledged computers).