Android Xiaomi Mi 8 shamelessly copies iPhone X
Many Android phones have been heavily influenced by the iPhone X since Apple's flagship arrived last year, but the latest from Xiaomi may be the most blatant ripoff yet.
The Chinese manufacturer unveiled its new flagship smartphone, the Mi 8, at a press event in China, with more details released in a company blog post. And, the iPhone X influence is rather obvious.
Yes, there's a notch. Yes, the shape and curves are about the same, and yes, there's a facial-unlock feature much like Face ID. The only clear difference is the size -- the screen the Mi 8 is slightly larger at 6.21 inches as opposed to 5.8 for the iPhone X.
The Mi 8 is also the first smartphone to use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 710. Xiaomi has been seen as possibly entering the U.S. smartphone market this year, but there's been no announcement about that.
At the Mobile World Congress back in February, various manufacturers showed up with smartphones that featured the notch with some, such as Asus, even openly admitting that they were copying the feature from the iPhone X. This indicated that notches are the next evolution in smartphone design, soon to see adoption industry-wide.
LG, which placed a notch on its ThinQ phone, has been adamant that it didn't copy the feature from the iPhone.
As for the legal implications, there's been no word yet about Apple trying to pursue patent litigation related to the notch. Apple filed a patent for what would become the notch in November of 2016, which was granted in January 2018. Apple certainly hasn't been shy in the past about suing rivals who it feels have copied aspects of its iPhone designs.
The Essential Phone actually came to the market with the notch before the iPhone X, although that company recently cancelled its next release.
The Chinese manufacturer unveiled its new flagship smartphone, the Mi 8, at a press event in China, with more details released in a company blog post. And, the iPhone X influence is rather obvious.
Yes, there's a notch. Yes, the shape and curves are about the same, and yes, there's a facial-unlock feature much like Face ID. The only clear difference is the size -- the screen the Mi 8 is slightly larger at 6.21 inches as opposed to 5.8 for the iPhone X.
The Mi 8 is also the first smartphone to use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 710. Xiaomi has been seen as possibly entering the U.S. smartphone market this year, but there's been no announcement about that.
Copycat notches
At the Mobile World Congress back in February, various manufacturers showed up with smartphones that featured the notch with some, such as Asus, even openly admitting that they were copying the feature from the iPhone X. This indicated that notches are the next evolution in smartphone design, soon to see adoption industry-wide.
LG, which placed a notch on its ThinQ phone, has been adamant that it didn't copy the feature from the iPhone.
As for the legal implications, there's been no word yet about Apple trying to pursue patent litigation related to the notch. Apple filed a patent for what would become the notch in November of 2016, which was granted in January 2018. Apple certainly hasn't been shy in the past about suing rivals who it feels have copied aspects of its iPhone designs.
The Essential Phone actually came to the market with the notch before the iPhone X, although that company recently cancelled its next release.
Comments
2) Note that the top has more space between the display and edge than the sides of the display, while the iPhone X is uniform on all sides.
3) I question their 90% screen to body ratio considering the chin at the bottom.
The bezel at the bottom of iPhones never held those sensors. Those were always at the top, so the question is why do these copycats still need a bezel at the bottom? They put the finger print sensor on the back.
One of the phones they announced has fingerprint sensor under the display.
One thing I am understand is - Why is Apple NOT suing them? This would teach them a lesson and also prevent blatant copying like what is going on, particularly with the notch.
Depending on the elements you want to accommodate in the front facing part of the phone, the notch will be wider or narrower and the screen to body ratio will be higher or lower.
Sharp probably did more than anyone else to tackle these issues with different designs over the years before the Aquos Crystal S2 and of course the Essential Phone.
Those were small notches. Apple followed with a wider notch as it wanted to pack more into it.
From a purely design perspective I doubt Apple can do anything as it itself is doing what others have done.
This year is by all accounts (and for better or worse) the year of the notch but notches are 'in' and no doubt sway more than a few purchase decisions.
Now, 95%+ screen ratio phones are basically already here so I wonder if notches will be 'out' sooner than we think or if they will stick around as another preference option (like front or rear fingerprint sensors (be they underscreen, in screen, ultrasonic or whatever).
The next big splash (designwise) is supposedly the Lenovo Z5 which is also touted to bring a couple of tech advances (4TB of memory and 45 day standby time).
Next Tuesday we will know for sure.
Also if you see one of these phones in person, pay attention to the width of the bezels... they're rather thicker than how they are shown here.
But yeah this Xiaomi phone is a pretty blatant close copy IMHO. I don't personally think there's a chance in Hades that Apple will sue them over it but I could be surprised. The Chinese manufacturers are certainly flexing their muscle and seemingly challenging Apple to do something about it.
2) The notch is absolutely intentional. "Workarounds," if you want to call it that, are intentional. It's very clearly a motion to make more of the front face the display but needed to keep certain sensors and components front facing. It's because of the nw display tech that allows it to exist. The notch is not an accident! Notching was going to happen as soon as foldable display tech became available.
Stage 1: What a dumb move by Apple.
Stage 2: Apple wasn't the first to offer this.
Stage 3: Everyone is doing it because it was the obvious move all along.