Xiaomi Mi MIX Alpha won’t be selling, no plans for new MIX series device this year

Earlier this year, Xiaomi showed the Mi MIX Alpha to the Indian media as a glimpse into the future of smartphones. The Alpha stunned all eyes with its wraparound display and the world’s first 108-megapixel camera. At the time, Xiaomi said it was considering to sell the Alpha to a limited number of customers across selected markets. Later on, Xiaomi stopped updating on the status of the MIX Alpha before finally confirming on it.

Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun reached out to his followers on Weibo with answers to a couple of questions from the community. He answered three questions, one of which included the future of the MIX Alpha. Lei confirmed the MIX Alpha not making it to mass production in the future. The reason behind this decision was difficulty in mass production of the handset. Moreover, it was essentially a research project and the CEO claims it attained its goal.

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While the Alpha surely looked appealing, it made little sense in terms of practicality. The MIX Alpha had a wraparound flexible OLED display made of plastic. While the unending display looked cool, it failed to justify the display on the sides and back. The edges were only good for notifications. Additionally, the plastic display on the phone was extremely prone to scratches and damage.

Was MIX Alpha the last MIX device?

Lei Jun in an answer to another question also confirmed there’s no new model in the MIX series lineup this year. The Alpha was a showcase for cutting edge display technology and so were the previous models. The company is now focusing its attention on a device that brings another major innovation in the smartphone space. That phone could be ready next year and hence, there will be no MIX series phone this year.

While Xiaomi did not reveal the exact details on the next-gen MIX device, it could easily have a folding display. Last year, Xiaomi shared a video of a prototype folding device with two hinges. As Samsung continues to sell folding smartphones, Xiaomi would be pushing to come up with one of its own. The MIX series has always been about a cutting-edge display and the next one probably won’t deviate from that aim.

Surge chips under development

Xiaomi also confirmed working on its Surge series of chips. The Surge series chips were announced back in 2018 for its affordable smartphones. Only one phone came out the with the Surge S1 chip and Xiaomi stopped talking about it after that. Lei now says that development on the project is going on and the programme is still going on.