Chinese phone maker Xiaomi might be planning
something big for next year. A new report from the People's Republic allegedly
reveals some of the most important specs of the company's 2018 flagship that's
tentatively called Xiaomi Mi 7. While the information below is not official and
should be taken with a big grain of salt, some of it coincides with rumors that
emerged earlier this year.
Apparently, the next member of the Mi series will
feature an all-screen design. This does make sense, as Xiaomi already has
plenty of expertise in this area thanks to its Mi Mix and Mi Mix 2. The design of the Mi Mix series is quite
appealing, but one change we would certainly appreciate is a more traditional
positioning of the front camera since the two Mix models released so far have
it on its lower bezel. The report also mentions that fast and wireless charging
will make the cut, meaning that the Mi 7 will likely sport have a glass back
plate.
A big improvement is expected in the display
department. The Mi 7 is said to feature a 6-inch Samsung-made AMOLED screen
with an 18:9 aspect ratio. That's quite a big change, especially when compared
to the 5.2-inch 16:9 Full HD IPS panel on the Mi 6. This may seem a bit
unrealistic, but we have to note that multiple Chinese and Korean media outlets
reported that Xiaomi signed an OLED supply deal with Sammie back in July.
If the display rumor proves to be true, this would
mean that the fingerprint scanner will probably be positioned at the back of
the device. According to the article, Xiaomi is also interested in the 3D face
recognition technology of the iPhone X and will try to introduce a similar form
of biometric authentication on some of its future devices. However, the Mi 7
won't feature such a system, as Xiaomi is apparently waiting for it to mature a
bit more before implementing it.
Performance-wise, the Xiaomi Mi 7 is rumored to come
with Qualcomm's next high-end SoC which will likely be the Snapdragon 845. The
powerful chipset will be coupled with 6GB of RAM. The report suggests that we
won't see an upgrade in the battery department, so the power cell will have the
3,350 mAh capacity of the Mi 6.
The main camera is said to feature a pair of 16MP
sensors, and at least one of them will have an aperture size of F/1.7. This
does seem promising, but Xiaomi has a bit of a track record with underwhelming
camera performance. Still, it will be interesting to see if this changes in
2018.
When it comes to price, the Mi 7 will supposedly
launch at CNY 2,699 in China. This translates to about US$ 405, but people in
western markets looking to import the device will end up paying more due to
taxes and import fees. The report doesn't mention anything about a release
date, but Xiaomi does have a history of launching its flagships in late Q1 or
early Q2. Thus, you can probably expect the device to hit the shelves in late
March or April.
