Apple has been vocal about the fact that all goodies have been saved for the 2017 iPhone 8, hence the insignificant changes to the iPhone 7 when compared to the iPhone 6S.
As a result, many mainstream buyers may be sitting back waiting for the iPhone 8 since they see no changes between the 2016 and 2015 iPhones. With this happening, a lot of attention is being directed to what Apple is really doing to make things better this coming year.
One company, though, has already raced ahead of Apple in unveiling a special feature that has been touted to come with the 2017 iPhone 8. In case you haven’t heard of it, Xiaomi is the company in question here. For close followers, you should know that it is not the first time this Chinese OEM has come into Apple’s path. In fact, the company is known as the Apple of China due to the numerous copycats it has had with respect to the iPhone and its Xiaomi Mi phones.
The fact that these phones look a lot like the iPhone has meant that Xiaomi does not sell its phones in the U.S. As for the regions where it can do so, the company will hopefully be pushing out the Xiaomi Mi 5s and the Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus. Are you surprised by the names? As you can see, the company has also copied the naming convention of Apple’s iPhone, coming in with a standard model and a Plus variant for its latest Xiaomi Mi 5s flagship, just like the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
Like Apple, the Xiaomi Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus are differentiated by size and battery capacity. Furthermore, you get a dual-lens camera setup on the Plus variant as opposed to the standard model. As for the rest of the specs sheet, there is a 5.2-inch 1080p resolution that also features Force Touch technology, a Snapdragon 821 SoC, a RAM of 4GB and an onboard storage of 128GB. There is 3200mAh of battery capacity.
But what has Xiaomi added to the latest flagships that is also expected on the 2017 Apple iPhone 8? Well, the Xiaomi Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus have a special feature on their display panels. The phones, like many other 2016 flagships, comes with support for fingerprint scanning technology. However, rather than have this feature on the back of the phone or on the home button, Xiaomi has hidden it under the display unit. The under-glass ultrasonic fingerprint sensor eliminates the need to have a fingerprint scanner in the home button, thus allowing the screen to take up as much real estate as possible.
Apple has been rumored to be working on a home button-less iPhone 8, which should mean you also get a fingerprint scanner that is buried under the display unit like Xiaomi has done with the Mi 5s. With this technology, it is possible to build a smaller phone without the need of reducing the screen size as less space is wasted around the display. Introducing the pressure-sensitive home button on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus is a way of getting people used to the incoming technology.
There is still one year before the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are unveiled. In fact, don’t be surprised if these came with a different name. However, you can for sure expect lots of changes on board the next iPhone, especially when compared to the current-gen iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.
As for those interested in knowing more about the Xiaomi Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus, you can visit the official website to learn more.