This Xiaomi flip phone design is clearly inspired by the Pixel 6
This smartphone design got published by CNIPA (China National Intellectual Property Administration), and you can check out the sketches below the article. There are quite a few images shown here, and the Pixel 6 inspiration is undeniable. You will immediately notice the camera visor on the back. It looks a lot like the one on the Pixel 6. It goes from one side of the phone to the other, and it protrudes along the way. There seem to be three cutouts on it. This phone folds right down the middle, as you’d expect from a flip phone. The back side of the device is curved, and when it’s unfolded, you can’t see its hinge at all. Its display is flat, of course, and from the front, it also resembles the Pixel 6, due to that box look. A Type-C USB port seems to be included on the bottom, along with the main speaker, and a SIM card tray. All the physical buttons sit on the right-hand side of the device. That includes the power/lock button, along with the volume up and down keys.
There is no camera cutout on the main display
What’s also interesting is that there is no cutout on the foldable display. This could indicate an under-display camera, and it wouldn’t be a first for Xiaomi. The company has been testing the tech for a long time, and the MIX Fold even includes an under-display camera. Now, do note that this is just a design patent. Every major OEM registers a ton of design patents per year, but that doesn’t mean they will use them. This particular one did catch our eye due to the Pixel 6-inspired design. It is worth noting that Xiaomi did announce one foldable smartphone thus far, but is rumored to announce several more this year. The company is allegedly planning to announce a second-gen MIX Fold handset, along with its first clamshell foldable. That clamshell foldable could look like the one shown in this patent, but not necessarily, we’ll have to wait and see.
