Xiaomi is poised to potentially outpace Apple in the race to create a truly buttonless smartphone. The company is set to reveal a phone with no physical buttons, volume rockers, or capacitive keys early next year. This innovative design concept is reminiscent of Xiaomi’s earlier Mi Mix Alpha concept, which also emphasized a sleek, all-screen display.
The upcoming device, currently known as Project Zhuque, is expected to be a high-end model equipped with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset. This advanced processor will likely support the phone’s cutting-edge features and performance capabilities. The phone will also include a selfie camera concealed beneath the display, designed to outperform similar technologies used by competitors like Samsung and ZTE.
Navigating a phone without physical buttons presents challenges, but Xiaomi seems to have devised an intuitive alternative for managing functions typically controlled by physical keys. The absence of traditional buttons means that users will need to adapt to a new system of inputs for tasks such as adjusting volume or powering the device on and off.
In contrast, Apple has been rumored to be working on an all-screen iPhone for some time. While speculation first linked this innovation to the iPhone 15, it now seems more likely for the iPhone 16 series. Apple’s efforts to replace physical buttons with capacitive alternatives have encountered difficulties, leading the company to explore other enhancements for the iPhone 16.
Apple plans to introduce new features such as the Action Button across the entire iPhone 16 series and incorporate capacitive keys in a limited fashion for the iPhone 16 Pro models. This approach indicates that while Apple is moving towards more advanced designs, it may not achieve a fully buttonless, all-screen phone as quickly as Xiaomi. Consequently, Project Zhuque could potentially set a new standard in smartphone design if it becomes available as a commercial product.
