Xiaomi Mi MIX Alpha First Smartphone with 108 MP Camera and Wrap-Around Display

The Chinese manufacturer was preparing a new phone for its presentation today. A phone belonging to the MIX family and that was going to give a couple of turns to the initial concept of the family, maintaining the "all-screen" design that had characterized the models of previous generations. And between applause, the Xiaomi Mi MIX Alpha has appeared on stage.

The model has not lost the experimental soul of the family and has come sporting an impressive screen with the edges curved at 90º, allowing aside for added notifications more visible than in other competing models, in addition to other advances such as that suffered by the camera. But the screen is not there, much less, because it continues. We go in more detail.

Ceramics, titanium and an impossible screen

The screen has starred at the beginning of the presentation of this Xiaomi Mi MIX Alpha, presuming the manufacturer of curved edges with an angle of 90º making the sides of the phone look very clearly when the device is fully tilted. And of course, minimizing the upper and lower frames.

But the screen is not there but extends towards the back of the phone, forming as a screen practically for the 360º of the phone, only rotated by a rear strip for the rear cameras and provide some design. Without a doubt, a revolutionary concept and a step further when it comes to taking advantage of flexible panels. And no, it is not a concept but a commercial mobile.

"4D surrounded curve display". This is how Xiaomi has called the screen of its new Mi MIX Alpha, which it has also called as "5G Concept smartphone", an interesting name but not too exact since we are talking about a commercial mobile and not a concept. Experimental would have been more correct, although this does not detract quality from design and execution, which at least on the screen seems excellent.

The lower frame of the screen and the upper one is 2.15 millimeters thick, and there, along with the back band, Xiaomi has embedded the WiFi antennas, the GPS and the rest of the components related to the connectivity of the phone. The screen is also acoustic, so the Mi MIX Alpha does not need speakers.

Let's talk about the power of this Snapdragon 855+

Because it was evident that a launch of these characteristics was to be commanded by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+, a 2.96GHz running processor, built-in 7 nanometers + and with the Adreno 640 GPU for the graphics section. And of course, with 5G onboard the Snapdragon X50. Thus, the maximum power that is capable of deploying the Android market at the moment in the service of the new Xiaomi Mi MIX Alpha.

The processor relies on what looks like a single version of RAM and internal storage. We will have at least one version with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage for this Mi MIX Alpha for which there will be no trays for microSD cards or similar. Xiaomi has also highlighted the presence of the haptic engine so that the phone vibrates during the touch on the screen and thus allows to emulate the presence of a physical keyboard when what you touch is typing.

The phone also has a 4,050 mAh battery with a fast charge of 40W and also has a 45W charger included in the box. No mention has been made of the presence of wireless charging, so we assume you will not have it. The phone arrives built with a titanium alloy in addition to the crystalline envelope, and the rear strip where the camera is housed is ceramic.

108 megapixels Rear Camera

For the main camera, Xiaomi has opted for a 108-megapixel sensor capable of generating 12,032 x 9,024-pixel photographs, and which probably do not occupy little in the phone's memory, but that promises to offer a sharpness never seen before on a mobile phone. As usual, it will be tested to see how the phone's processing works and how the final results are.

In addition to this 108-megapixel main camera, Xiaomi forms a trio on the back of the phone. We have 20 megapixels with a super wide-angle lens and a third 12-megapixel sensor to complete the equipment. This last lens is responsible for offering optical zoom, here of 2 magnifications.

The cameras are also located on the strip that "breaks" the screen on the back and is built in ceramic. A complement to the sapphire crystal that wraps around the mobile and the titanium alloy skeleton. There is no doubt that Xiaomi has not repaired expenses, and that shows in the price.

Xiaomi Mi MIX Alpha versions and prices

The new Alpha, an experimental mobile that is available for sale, comes with a single version of RAM and internal storage. It also lands with a single price of 19,999 yuan, which translates into approximately 2,560 euros at the current exchange rate. We do not know if he will leave China at some point, but we will be alert in case it happens.

• Xiaomi Mi MIX Alpha with 12GB / 512GB: 19,999 yuan or 2,813 dollars

Xiaomi Mi MIX Alpha

Brand and Model

Brand

Xiaomi

Model

Mi MIX Alpha

Model Alias

Mi MIX 4

Mi MIX α

Mi MIX Alpha Operating System

MIUI V11 (Android 10)

Mi MIX Alpha System on  Chip (SOC)

SOC

Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus

Process Technology

7 nm

CPU

1x 2.96 GHz Kryo 485

3x 2.42 GHz Kryo 485

4x 1.8 GHz Kryo 485

CPU Bits

64 bits

Instruction Set

ARMv8-A

CPU Frequency

2960 MHz

CPU Cores

8

GPU

Qualcomm Adreno 640

GPU Frequency

675 MHz

Mi MIX Alpha RAM Capacity

12 GB

RAM Type

LPDDR4X

RAM Channels

Double Channel

RAM Frequency

2133 MHz

Mi MIX Alpha Storage

512 GB

UFS 3.0

Mi MIX Alpha Memory Cards

No Card

Mi MIX Alpha Display

Color Depth

24 bits

16777216 colors

Other Features

Capacitive

Multi-touch

Scratch resistant

Wraparound display

180.6% screen to body ratio

Mi MIX Alpha Sensors

Ultrasonic distance sensor

Mi MIX Alpha Primary Camera

Sensor Model

Samsung S5KHMX

Sensor type

ISOCELL

Image Resolution

12032 x 9024 Pixels

108.58 MP

Video resolution

3840 x 2160 pixels

8.29 MP

Video FPS

60 fps

Features

Autofocus

Continuous shooting

Digital zoom

Digital image stabilization

Optical image stabilization

Geotagging

Panorama

HDR

Touch focus

Face detection

White balance setting

ISO setting

Exposure compensation

Self-timer

Scene mode

Macro mode

Sensor size – 1/1.33”

Pixel size- 1.6 um (4-in-1 pixel binning)

Super Phase detection

6-element lens

Sensor type- ISOCELL Bright

Pixel size- 0.8 um

Four axis OIS

Secondary rear camera- 16 MP (ultra-wide-angle)

Aperture- f/2.2 (#2)

Pixel size- 1.0 um (#2)

Angle of view- 117 degree (#2)

Focal length (35 mm equivalent)- 17 mm (#2)

Sensor Model- Sony IMX481 Exmor RS (#2)

6-elements lens

1.5 cm super macro (#2)

Third rear camera- 12 MP (telephoto)

Aperture- f/2.4 (#3)

Sensor size- 1/3.4” (#3)

Pixel size- 1.0 um (#3)

Sensor model- Samsung S5K3M5 (#3)

Sensor type- ISOCELL (#3)

6-element lens

Dual Phase detection #3)

2x optical zoom (#3)

Focal length (35 mm equivalent)- 51 mm (#3)

Sapphire glass

Mi MIX Alpha Tracking /  Positioning

GPS (L1+L5)

A-GPS

GLONASS (L1)

BeiDou (B1)

Galileo (E1+E5a)

Mi MIX Alpha Wi-Fi

802.11a (IEEE 802.11a-1999)

802.11b (IEEE 802.11b-1999)

802.11g (IEEE 802.11g-2003)

802.11n (IEEE 802.11n-2009)

802.11n 5GHz

802.11ac (IEEE 802.11ac)

Dual band

Wi-Fi Hotspot

Wi-Fi-Direct

Wi-Fi Display

2x2 MiMO

Mi MIX Alpha Bluetooth

Version

5.0

Features

A2DP

LE

Mi MIX Alpha USB

Connector Type

USB Type-C

Version

2.0

Features

Charging

Mass Storage

Host

On-The-Go

Mi MIX Alpha Headphone Jack

No

Mi MIX Alpha Connectivity

Computer sync

OTA sync

Tethering

NFC

VoLTE

Infrared

Mi MIX Alpha Browser

HTML

HTML5

CSS 3

Mi MIX Alpha Audio File Formats /  Codecs

AAC

AAC+ / aaPlus / HE-AAC v1

AMR / AMR-NB / GSM-AMR

AMR-WB

aptX / apt-X

aptX HD / apt-X HD / aptX Lossless

eAAC+ / aacPlus v2 / HE-AAC v2

FLAC

MIDI

MP3

OGG

WMA

WAV

LDAC

Mi MIX Alpha Video File Formats /  Codecs

3GPP

AVI

DivX

H.263

H.264 / MPEG-4 Part 10 / AVC video

H.265 / MPEG-H Part 2 / HEVC

MP4

MKV

VC-1

Xvid

Mi MIX Alpha Battery

Capacity

4050 mAh

Features

Non-removable

Fast charging

Charger Output Power

5 V / 3 A

9 V / 3 A

20 V / 2 A

Mi MIX Alpha Launch

Announced

2019, Sept.

Status

Release September 2019

Mi MIX Alpha Price

12 GB + 512 GB = 2813 $

Mi MIX Alpha Design

Colors

Black

Body Materials

Titanium

Ceramic

Glass

Mi MIX Alpha Mobile Network Technology and Bandwidth

UMTS (384 kbit/s)

EDGE

GPRS

HSPA+

LTE

EV-DO Rev. A (1.8 Mbit/s, 3.1 Mbit/s)

TD-SCDMA

TD-HSDPA

NSA

Mi MIX Alpha Networks

GSM

GSM 850 MHz (B5)

GSM 900 MHz (B8)

GSM 1800 MHz (B3)

GSM 1900 MHz (B2)

TD-SCDMA

TD-SCDMA 2000 MHz

W-CDMA

W-CDMA 850 MHz (B5)

W-CDMA 900 MHz (B8)

W-CDMA 1900 MHz (B2)

LTE

LTE-FDD 850 MHz (B5)

LTE-FDD 900 MHz (B8)

LTE-FDD 1800 MHz (B3)

LTE-FDD 2100 MHz (B1)

LTE-TDD 1900 MHz (B39)

LTE-TDD 2300 MHz (B40)

LTE-TDD 2500 MHz (B41)

LTE-TDD 2600 MHz (B38)

5G

5G  NSA- n41

5G NSA- n78

5G NSA- n79