Xiaomi is expected to launch an upgraded version of its current flagship Mi Mix 2 (Review) sometime this year. Rumours of the new Xiaomi device, said to be called Mi Mix 2S, have started making the rounds, and the latest leak on Chinese social media site Weibo suggests that the company wants to launch it much sooner than expected.
The information was posted by a tipster on Weibo, who confirmed that the Chinese smartphone maker is prepping for the launch of the Mix 2S and that it might even launch it well ahead of the annual MWC 2018. The device was previously rumoured to be launched alongside Xiaomi's next flagship Mi 7 at MWC 2018, which will be held in late February in Barcelona.
While the tipster did not reveal much about the device itself, he did, however, ask the readers to guess which of the upcoming Xiaomi devices will be the first to feature Qualcomm's latest flagship Snapdragon 845 chipset.
Without a doubt, the upcoming Xiaomi flagship - Mi 7- will be the first Xiaomi smartphone to be powered by the Snapdragon 845 SoC when it is made official at MWC. However, it is still not known which processor the Mi Mix 2S would pack. Xiaomi might reserve the latest and greatest chipset for the proper successor of the Mi Mix 2 – the Mi Mix 3 which is still expected to be launched later this year.
Although the Mi Mix 3 is still far away from rumour mills, the device might be launched in September or October this year, going by the fact that the original Mi Mix was launched in October 2016 and the Mi Mix 2 in September 2017.
Coming to the Mi Mix 2S, neither the device nor its specifications are officially confirmed by Xiaomi, but there have been several rumours about the device. However, to be on the safer side, it's always advisable to take these rumours with a pinch of salt until Xiaomi makes an official announcement.
If past rumours are to be believed, the Mi Mix 2S will be a refreshed version of the Mi Mix 2 with a design similar to that of the iPhone X.
A recently leaked render of the device, made it look identical to the iPhone X, completed with the infamous "notch." However, it eventually turned out to be an app for the Mi Mix 2 which made it look like the iPhone X.
But a second render leaked via Slashleaks suggests the smartphone will be truly bezel-less and that the screen will occupy almost 100 percent of the front of the device. As you can see from the image below, the bezels on this device are more reduced compared to the Mi Mix 2.
The render suggests that the Mi Mix 2S will ditch the bottom chin that housed the front camera module on the original Mi Mix and Mi Mix 2. It suggests that Xiaomi will instead move the front camera to the top-right corner, which again gives rise to a small but unusual looking notch at the top-right corner. However, the image shows a considerably thinner bottom bezel compared to the Mi Mix 2.
The back panel looks largely unchanged, showing a design similar to the Mi Mix and Mi Mix 2 with a single rear camera setup and 18K gold-plated camera ring. Below the camera sits the rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, also with the gold-plated ring. The smartphone will most likely employ a ceramic body like its predecessors.
Having said that, the design isn't too much of a revolution and that suggests that why the Mi Mix 2S will just be an upgrade. However, the unusually placed but small notch on the front-facing camera, if it turns out to be the real deal, does take the bezel-less design to the next level. The device is expected to be priced around 4000 Yuan (approx. Rs 40,000) upon its launch.
