14 DAY TRIAL // Xiaomi is expected to unveil its in-house developed Pinecone chip next week, alongside a decent budget-friendly smartphone, probably the Mi 5c. The Chinese company won't launch anything at MWC 2017 and its flagship is supposed to be revealed this summer.
While this is not the first time we get a look at the Xiaomi Mi 6, it's the first time a functional device is shown in pictures, which suggests an official announcement might not be too far away.
According to the latest reports, Xiaomi Mi 6 could be unveiled sometime in July, but the trial production might start as early as March.
Although previous rumors claimed the smartphone would be introduced at Mobile World Congress on February 27, the lack of Snapdragon 835 chipsets might have forced the Chinese company to postpone the launch of the Mi 6 for a few months.
Xiaomi plans to launch two variations of the Mi 6: Youth and Standard. Both will be released in July, but they will feature different configurations. The Youth Edition will be equipped with a MediaTek Helio X30 processor, while the Standard Edition will pack a more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 CPU.
They'll be different design-wise as well, since the cheaper Youth Edition will sport a 5.2-inch display, while the Standard Edition is supposed to boast a larger 5.5-inch display.
However, both models will come with flat displays, which means Xiaomi is not ready, or doesn't want to change the winning formula it nailed years ago.
The recently leaked pictures published by Playfuldroid confirm the Mi 6 will indeed come with a flat display, not a curved-edge one. What's really interesting is the fact that Xiaomi managed to shrink the bezels to a decent size, which shouldn't be surprising considering the company's experience with the Mi Mix.
The phone doesn't look spectacular at all, but let's not be that judgmental. Also, it's worth noting the Mi 6 won't feature a physical Home button, so you'll be using touch sensitive controls only.
