Xiaomi's new full-screen phone revealed, taking over MIX 4 after 3 years

In 2023, Xiaomi will insist on taking the high-end route. Through four large-scale press conferences, Xiaomi launched four flagship models: Mi 13 Ultra, Mi MIX Fold 3, Mi 14 series, and Redmi K70 series. The good market response helped Xiaomi gradually gain a foothold in the high-end mobile phone market. Among them, the results of Xiaomi 14 series and Redmi K70 series far exceeded market expectations.

In addition to flagship models, Xiaomi Civi 3 and Redmi Note 13 series are also solidifying Xiaomi’s basic base in the mid-to-low-end mobile phone market.

Photo source: BCI

The combined efforts of all parties have successfully helped Xiaomi wipe out the decline in the first two quarters of 2023. In the fourth quarter, with a market share of 15.7% and a growth rate of 38.4%, it ranked second in the Chinese mobile phone market and ranked first among domestic brands, second only to Apple.

The identity of the mysterious new phone is in doubt. Is there another phone for MIX 5?

Strong product power is Xiaomi’s most effective weapon in “making rice soar”, and Xiaomi, who has tasted the benefits, also knows this. Today, news of Xiaomi's mysterious new phone has spread on the Internet. A mysterious phone named "Xiaomi Suiren" has appeared in the GeekBench benchmark library. The phone is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8gen 3 processor and 16GB of memory. The 6.1.0 version is single. The core score is 2336 points and the multi-core score is 6837 points.

Source: sparrowsnews

Could this be the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 14 Ultra? Xiaolei thought so at first, but after checking the previous information, he found that the codenames of Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Pro were Houji and Shennong respectively, while the codename of Xiaomi 14 Ultra was Aurora. The literal English translation is Aurora, but Xiaomi Aurora seems to be taken from Roman mythology, meaning the goddess of dawn.

Then the question is, if it’s not Xiaomi Mi 14 Ultra, what model will it be? Judging from the codename "Xiaomi Suiren", it should be taken from the Suiren family in Chinese mythology. Referring to the past codename rules, usually codenames of this level correspond to flagship models. Combined with the processor and benchmark results, Xiaolei has a reason I believe this will be a heavyweight new phone.

Foreign media sparrowsnews speculates that “Xiaomi Suiren” is likely to be a flagship model equipped with an under-screen front camera. Wait, the front camera under the screen, this keyword reminds Xiao Lei of an old friend in the Xiaomi mobile phone family-Xiaomi MIX 4.

Xiaomi MIX 4 is a full-screen mobile phone released in 2021, and it is also Xiaomi’s last under-screen front-facing candy bar phone. MIX 4 adopts an integrated ceramic body design and is equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ processor. It is equipped with a 6.67-inch CUP full screen on the front and a 20MP under-screen front camera. At that time, it received praise from many users, but MIX 4, just like its predecessor MIX 3, has been delayed for 3 years and there is still no news about MIX 5.

Source: Weibo

According to technology blogger @digitalchatstation, Xiaomi may launch a new under-screen front camera this year, but it will only be for Xiaomi MIX 5 The foundation is not the MIX 5 series. Xiaolei noticed that the article mentioned "industry-leading high screen-to-body ratio form" and "new solution for more than one under-screen camera." These keywords perfectly fit the mysterious new phone exposed this time. It is likely to inherit the MIX series New machine for design concept.

Under-screen camera, "dead" and resurrected?

I wonder if you will find it strange that it’s already 2024, why is Xiaomi going back to making under-screen cameras? At present, except for a few brands such as ZTE and Nubia, which still insist on full-screen displays equipped with under-screen cameras, new smartphones are basically dominated by punch-hole screens and notch screens.

Back then, in order to pursue the screen-to-body ratio of mobile phones, mobile phone brands came up with pop-up cameras. However, due to the space requirements and waterproof design, this design was quickly abandoned by the market. The under-screen camera is a product under this background. It officially takes over the lift-type camera and contributes to the full-screen mobile phone.

Image source: Xiaomi

While most people are attracted by the good looks of the full screen equipped with under-screen cameras, under-screen camera technology is still improving after many iterations. It cannot solve the natural disadvantage of low light transmittance. According to tests by professional institutions, the light transmittance of the camera area under the screen is only 20%-30%, while the light transmittance of the front camera area of ​​mainstream flagship mobile phones is more than 90%. From a numerical perspective, it can Clearly see the huge gap between the two.

The light transmittance is poor, the selfie effect is directly broken, the look is extremely blurry, and it even produces a blurry effect under backlighting. This is almost an unforgivable problem on a flagship mobile phone.

In addition, in order to solve the problem of light transmittance, the brightness of the camera area under the screen is obviously different from other areas of the screen. Nowadays, the resolution of mobile phone screens is getting higher and higher, and the contrast in this area becomes more obvious.

These shortcomings have caused most mobile phone brands to give up their enthusiasm for true full screens and switch to other screen forms that can better enhance the user experience.

Xiaomi dared to launch a new phone equipped with an under-screen camera under such circumstances, and it was obviously prepared. Xiaolei speculates that either Xiaomi has found a way to improve the light transmittance of the under-screen camera, or Xiaomi is reluctant to part with these loyal users of true full-screen displays and wants to use this new phone to test the market response for the next MIX 5, and then make decisions based on feedback. Subsequent adjustments.

No matter what the reason is, it is a high probability that Xiaomi will launch this new phone this year. Looking around the current mobile phone market, from screen design to core configuration, from pricing to tonality, Nubia Z60 Ultra may be the biggest competitor that Xiaomi’s new phone needs to face.

Source: Nubia

Nubia’s official first sales report released last year showed that Nubia Z60 Ultra’s first sales across all channels exceeded 100 million in one second, and it also won JD.com ranks first in sales of Android phones.

It is also a true full-screen phone equipped with an under-screen camera. Nubia Z60 Ultra has a group of loyal users due to its advantages in image and appearance. Although Nubia has not found a way to completely solve the disadvantages of under-screen cameras, it does not prevent it from firmly binding the hearts of the full-screen community. I believe that some of the original Xiaomi MIX 4 users switched to Nubia because they could not wait for MIX 5. Biya camp.

In the final analysis, whether you can accept the disadvantages of under-screen cameras depends on user needs. If you pursue the transparency of a full-screen display and don’t have many requirements for using the front camera, then this type of phone is your dream phone. On the contrary, it is tasteless and tasteless.

Friends who are not interested in full-screen displays don’t have to rush to ridicule others for their “face control”. After all, screen design can be regarded as a kind of differentiation. It is their ability for mobile phone manufacturers to capture this wave of users. But how to solve the light transmittance problem through software algorithms and hardware computing power is the key to the real return of under-screen cameras to popularity.

Otherwise, no matter how beautiful the design language is, it will only be considered a niche market and fall into Hinayana.

Written at the end

Although the popularity of full-screen displays has greatly decreased, there is still news about a certain leading mobile phone brand regaining full-screen displays. Taking Apple as an example, Xiao Lei has seen the news that Apple is about to apply full-screen on the iPhone since 2021, dozens of times. From the iPhone 13 series to the iPhone 15 series, there is no sign of a full-screen iPhone to this day.

As a true fan of full-screen displays, Xiao Lei was initially attracted by the super good looks of full-screen displays, but in the end he chose to give in between practicality and good looks. If there is only a slight gap in user experience between full-screen phones and other screen phones, then some consumers may still be willing to accept it. But if the usage experience is too different, I believe that the vast majority of consumers will give up the full screen first.

Photo source: Lei Technology

It is no exaggeration to say that the appearance of a mobile phone is not worth mentioning in the face of practicality. In the early years, Liu Haiping was ridiculed by the entire Internet when it was first launched. The subsequent gameplay related to Face ID and Smart Island caused a 360° change in the direction of public opinion. Facts have proved that whether a mobile phone has bangs or holes is not that important. The key is whether it can bring more practical functions to users.

Of course, the above opinions are based on the poor performance of the under-screen camera. If one day in the future, a manufacturer really solves the problem of light transmittance, will full-screen mobile phones make a full comeback?

I think so. Although the current under-screen camera technology is still a gimmick for appearance differentiation, there are also users who are willing to tolerate the weakness of front-facing photography and choose to embrace full-screen phones. I can’t imagine how many users will choose full-screen phones when under-screen camera technology finds a balance between light transmittance and software and hardware, and the image effect can be the same as that of punch-hole/notch-screen phones.

Xiao Lei always believes that full-screen mobile phones will be the next complete form of smartphones.

CES (International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, USA) 2024 is in full swing, Lei Technology editor "Yi Tianming" is reporting live in Las Vegas, USA. Welcome to Lei Technology Technology WeChat (ID: leitech), Weibo, and Wei Toutiao provide first-hand observations of CES2024.

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