Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha first impressions: Beautiful but completely pointless

Smartphones with foldable phones were part of science fiction until recently. But as 2020 begins, you can actually walk into a shop and buy one right now. There is Samsung's utterly exciting Galaxy Fold that opens up into a tablet when you want a big screen - yes, it becomes a tablet when you want it to. Motorola has used the folding display to make the mobile phone cool again -- thanks to the new Razr. Now, these are not the only two companies trying to create "foldable phones". There are other companies as well, such as Xiaomi, which has Mi Mix Alpha. But unlike the Galaxy Fold or the new Razr, the Alpha is little old-fashioned. It gives the impression that it is a futuristic, foldable phone. But it's not. Instead, it is a gorgeous phone made with a screen that is curved, and that wraps around the device.

Instead of being more-futuristic -- and difficult to make -- folding phone, the Mi Mix Alpha is a concept device that uses the same flexible OLED display to reach closer to the dream of an all-screen smartphone.

Xiaomi unveiled this phone last year and India Today Tech recently got a chance to experience the Mi Mix Alpha. This phone isn't going to sell in India but Xiaomi says that the Alpha previews some of the technologies you can expect from Xiaomi phones in 2020. Is that interesting? If it is, dive down for a preview of the Mix Alpha.

Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha: What is it?

The Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha is Xiaomi's idea of an alternate future for smartphones a future that may -- or rather will not given what we found with the Alpha -- shape into reality. But it is a preview of the future that smartphone geeks have always dreamt of -- a phone that has a display on all the sides. The Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha does that with the help of the same flexible OLED panel that other folding phones are using. However, instead of manual-folding, the display is permanently folded around the sides. Hence, you get a phone that has its display wrapped around the edges and the back.

If you love technology even in the tiniest of ways, the Mi Mix Alpha will get your blood rushing through your veins. After all, it's a phone that has screens on all the sides -- ALL THE SIDES! Technically, the top and bottom don't have screens but the rest of the surfaces are covered by the display. There's a slim strip at the back that holds the cameras as well as the antennas but that's it. All the screen everywhere.

The specifications are exciting too. A Snapdragon 855 Plus chip bundled with a 5G modem runs the show while a 4050mAh battery keeps the entire thing alive, with a 40W fast-charging system to fill it up quickly. You also get 12GB RAM and 512GB UFS 3.0 storage.

Does it work like a phone?

Yes, it does. The Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha is a functional smartphone that you can use every day to make calls, browse the web, listen to music and take photos. Though, you cannot buy it.

Pick up the phone and you see the display light up all the way around the edges. The front display shows the usual app icons and widgets (there's MIUI running here). Both the edges are displays too, showing the time, app notifications and custom widgets. They also show virtual pressure-sensitive buttons that you can use to lock the phone or adjust the volume. That said, there's a small power button on the top to boot up the phone.

It's at the back where things get interesting. The display continues from both the edges but it is interrupted by a thick piece of ceramic strip. This strip holds the three cameras as well as hides the antennas. The Mix Alpha is the first phone in the world to come with a 108-megapixel camera and Xiaomi says you can expect great results out of it. There's also a 20-megapixel ultra-wide camera and a 12-megapixel telephoto camera to help with the photography. The strip also flaunts the Mi Mix branding (you can't expect Xiaomi not put its name on this thing). The top and bottom are only places where there's no screen- the bottom holds a USB-C port, a microphone port, and the SIM card tray housing. There's no headphone jack (in case you dream in a parallel universe).

You unlock the phone and the experience is familiar to regular Android smartphone. You can use the front display to watch videos, photos, play games, text messages and everything that you do with a regular phone. The edge display acts as an extension for apps, although Xiaomi didn't allow us to open any app. In fact, Xiaomi is not letting tech journalists touch the phone at all. Weird, right?

What Xiaomi did show us was what the rear display does- act as a viewfinder while taking selfies and show customized widgets. That's it- you cannot use this to open any app or multitask with multiple apps at the same time.