Mi Mix Alpha Phone Has A Bonkers Wrap-Around Screen

There's a Xiaomi-made smartphone out there in the world called Mi Mix Alpha, and it's got a wrap-around display. This device's introduction to the world included the word "concept" more than once, but it'll apparently be produced for consumer sale nonetheless. The Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha has a screen-to-body ratio of 180.6 percent – which is, of course, completely bonkers.

Imagine you're worried that you're going to drop your phone because it might accidentally land on its face on the concrete on which you walk. Now imagine you've got a phone where disaster is almost certain, no matter which side hits the ground. You've probably got a Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha!

This isn't the sort of device that's meant to be hearty. The Xiaomi Mi Mix series was amongst the first to have massive frontside coverage of a smartphone back in the year 2016. It looked like a concept back then – but they made it! They've been making Mi Mix phones for the past several years, in fact – and they're pretty much as fragile as they seem.

That's not to say they're not great phones. The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 is a highly decent phone, as it were. We reviewed that device just this past January, 2019, and gave it an 8/10, with marks down for a lack of water/dust resistance, no headphone jack, a less-than-great loudspeaker, and other not-particularly-important reasons like its non-appearance on USA-based mobile carrier store shelves. Other than that, the Mi Mix series has been a real winner!

The Mi Mix Alpha has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset system inside, no frontside camera, and a 7.92-inch display. It's a little odd, deciding the size of the display, since we generally measure from corner to corner – but there it is, anyway.

The backside has a 108-megapixel camera, a 12-megapixel camera, and a 20-megapixel camera. Yes, a 108-megapixel camera, yes indeed. It'll have 5G connectivity inside, a 4050mAh battery, and 40W fast charging capabilities. Inside you'll also get 12GB RAM and 512GB internal storage.

This phone will be made in "small-scale production" in a limited fashion and will be released in December of 2019. The initial price announcement for this device had pricing starting at approximately 19,999 yuan. Converted at today's exchange rate, that's around $2,800 USD.