Xiaomi Mi MiX Alpha is still a thing, promised to come soon

It is too easy to forget that Xiaomi may have been the first to launch a bezel-less phone in the consumer market, even if it's not as bezel-less as many phones are today. Its Mi MiX has since then become the name it used for its innovations and concepts of which the Mi MiX Alpha may perhaps be the boldest and most ambitious. That may be why people are both doubtful and at the same time curious if this phone will even be launched and Xiaomi has some good news/bad news response to that.

Unlike the previous Xiaomi Mi MiX phones, the Mi MiX Alpha wasn't just bezel-less, it was even edge-less, at least as far as side edges go. The screen and curved all around the body, leaving only a single vertical strip on the back for things like the camera. It was, to some extent, Xiaomi's first step towards an all-screen phone.

That was way back in September and the Mi MiX Alpha was still nowhere to be seen despite an initial December promise. At least not in the official market. The phone did pop up on online stores but was unavailable for purchase. Responding to Abacus News' queries, Xiaomi confirms that the phone hasn't been scrapped and will still be launched soon. The bad news is that they still don't have a date for it.

That might not matter to most consumers anyway other than as a piece of interesting news. The Mi MiX Alpha won't be put into mass production, almost like the Samsung Galaxy Fold. Even more than the Galaxy Fold or even the Huawei Mate X, it is noted to carry a 19,999 RMB price tag, around $2,800.

It's not really that surprising given the specs as well as the revolutionary wraparound display. With a Snapdragon 855+, 12 GB of RAM, 256 GB of UFS 3.0 storage, three cameras including a 108 megapixel sensor, the Mi MiX Alpha does have the makings of being one of the most expensive phones in the market. And that's just for what is practically a working prototype.