Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 says goodbye to bezels ahead of iPhone X launch

Xiaomi has unveiled its second-generation bezel-less 'concept phone', the Mi Mix 2. The Chinese manufacturer's latest device features a slimmer design and a larger screen than its 2016 edge-to-edge trend-setter.

As shown in leaks prior to the official reveal, the Mi Mix 2 has a smaller screen than its predecessor, with the 6.4in panel dropping to 5.9in, but the phone expands on Xiaomi's bezel-free ambitions by shrinking the bottom "chin" by 12%.

This gives the phone's Full HD display a 18:9 aspect ratio, which just about mirrors that of the LG G6. The Android handset also ditches Xiaomi's traditionally angular design language for a curved approach, with its ceramic unibody panel blending into an aluminium frame.

Original Mi Mix oddities have also been resolved, with a dedicated, top-mounted speaker replacing the bone-conduction technology found in Xiaomi's first Mix-phone.

The smaller "chin" does come with a few quirks of its own though – most notably a front-facing camera, which requires the user to hold the phone upside-down to take a selfie.

Elsewhere the specs are as you'd expect from a 2017 flagship, although the lack of a rear dual-camera (here just a single 12 megapixel sensor) could disappoint some. Xiaomi confirmed most of the phone's specs in a Tweet:

No release date has been confirmed for the Mi Mix 2, but it is expected to go on sale in China before the end of the year. As the device features global LTE support, it will work in both the UK and the US, but will almost certainly only be officially sold in Xiaomi's homeland.

Pricing starts at CN¥3,299 (£383, $506) for the 64GB storage model. A special edition variant will also go on sale – price to be confirmed – with a whopping 8GB of RAM (up from 6GB as standard) and 18 carat gold coating around the camera and fingerprint sensor.

Xiaomi's event held in China, which also saw the announcement of the Mi Note 3 smartphone and a MacBook Pro rival called the Mi Notebook Pro, comes just a day before Apple is set to unveil its own take on bezel-less smartphones with the all-but-confirmed iPhone X.