Xiaomi Releases Mi 9 5G Variant and Futuristic Concept Phone With Surround Display

Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi announced today a trio of new products that embrace the next generation of mobile network connectivity with innovative technologies imbued within, namely the Mi 9 Pro 5G mobile phone, Mi Full Screen TV Pro and Mi MIX Alpha.

SEE ALSO: Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun Says Overseas Business Now Covering All 10 ASEAN Countries

Mi 9 Pro 5G

The company’s next-generation Mi 9 Pro 5G flagship sports a 6.39-inch AMOLED FHD+ waterdrop notch display, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855+ and up to 12GB of memory and 512GB of storage. The Mi 9 Pro 5G also inherits its predecessor Mi 9’s AI triple camera setup, which consists of a 48MP main camera with Sony’s IMX586 sensor, a 16MP ultra wide-angle camera and a 12MP telephoto camera.

The new flagship implements vapor chamber (VC) technology in combination with thermal adhesives and graphite sheets for heat dissipation. According to the company, the cooling system can effectively reduce the phone’s processor temperature by up to 10.2 °C.

The Mi 9 Pro 5G comes with a powerful 40W fast wired charging technology that completes a 100% charge in about 48 minutes, according to Xiaomi. It also supports 30W wireless charging capable of completely filling up the phone’s 4000mAh battery in 69 minutes.

Xiaomi also unveiled MIUI 11, a complete revamp of its smartphone operating system based on Google’s Android. The update features a suite of new functions and sounds including an overhaul of its visual designs, two office apps for working on the go and a new font named “Milan Pro,” which comes in various typography settings depending on the text being viewed.

The company worked closely with China’s three major operators — China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, to provide full 5G coverage on mainstream 5G bands used in China.

The base model of the Mi 9 Pro 5G will be retailing at a price starting at 3,699 yuan with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.

Mi MIX Alpha

Besides the 5G flagship, Xiaomi also revealed a concept phone today named Mi MIX Alpha, boasting a futuristic surround display that wraps around the entire phone body, excluding a thin strip housing the rear cameras.

The revolutionary concept phone features a whopping 108MP camera lens for taking pictures with an ultra-crisp clarity and boasts an unprecedented screen-to-body ratio of more than 180.6%, according to Xiaomi. To accommodate the nearly all-screen phone body, the company ditched physical buttons and opted for side-mounted pressure-sensitive modules, which leverage a linear motor to emulate the haptic experience supplied by real buttons.

On performance, the Mi MIX Alpha uses the same Snapdragon 855+ mobile SoC as the Mi 9 Pro 5G and supports the 5G bands of the three major carriers in China. The device comes in a 12GB+512GB memory and storage configuration and supports UFS 3.0 flash storage.

The Mi MIX Alpha is equipped with a 4050mAh battery and comes with a standard 40W wired fast charge.

Xiaomi aims to start small-scale production for Mi MIX Alpha at the end of December this year and retail it at a rather premium price point of 19,999 yuan.