When Xiaomi launched its first bezel-less smartphone - Mi Mix - back in 2016, it was seen as a revolution in smartphone design. We hadn't seen a device like that before - with that ceramic body and bezel-less design with almost zero bezels at the top and sides. However, to make the top bezel that slim, Xiaomi decided to place the selfie camera in a rather awkward spot – the bottom chin.
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The same design language followed with the Mi Mix 2 (REVIEW) which was released last year. But, late last year, rumors started doing the rounds that the manufacturer could launch a revised version of the Mi Mix 2 called the Mi Mix 2S which will feature an even radical bezel-less design. And in January this year, the company confirmed that it is indeed working on the Mi Mix 2S and that it could be unveiled at the upcoming MWC 2018 event.
The Mi Mix 2S has been leaked on several occasions before. The device was recently spotted featuring the latest and greatest Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset in AnTuTu scores. However, if that wasn't enough proof of the phone's impressive internals and that revolutionary bezel-less design, an official-looking promotional banner of the Mi Mix 2S has also emerged recently.
The image carries a render of the Mi Mix 2S with what it describes (in Chinese) as Full Screen design 3.0. The design indeed takes edge-to-edge, bezel-less design to a whole new level. The Mi Mix 2S has top and side bezels that appear to be even slimmer than those on the Mix 2. But what's even more interesting is that it doesn't have a bottom chin either.
Contrary to early leaks, the Mi Mix 2S will not have a notch like the iPhone X or the upcoming Huawei P20. Instead, the front camera is housed inside a tiny obtrusion on the top-right corner of the display. In fact, the front-facing camera is the only thing interrupting the all-screen aesthetic of the device, but again it takes up just a small little portion. We just hope the image is showing the exact render of the final design.
The image also lists a 5.99-inch display, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage on the handset, as well as the most powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon chip till date - Snapdragon 845 chipset. This confirms most of the key specs that were leaked on China's microblogging site Weibo recently.
And although the image does not confirm the camera specs as such, the Mi Mix 2S is said to pack dual 12MP + 12MP cameras at the rear which will feature optical zooming. The device is also said to come with an under display fingerprint scanner like the Vivo X20 Plus UD, since there is no sign of a fingerprint scanner on the back panel, or it could even come with an iPhone X FaceID-like facial recognition feature.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi is gearing up for the MWC trade show which starts February 26 in Barcelona, Spain. The company was rumored to unveil its flagship Mi 7, debuting the Snapdragon 845 chipset at MWC, but recent reports suggest that Xiaomi could have pushed the Mi 7 launch for a later date, and will unveil the MI Mix 2S instead. Whether Xiaomi unveils Mi 7 or Mi Mix 2S still remains a mystery, but it will be a very impressive showing from Xiaomi both ways.
