Doogee Mix 4 Prototype Showcases A Nearly Bezel-less Smartphone With A Whopping 97% Screen To Body Ratio

Since the last year or so, device manufacturers have been trying to maximize the screen real estate by cutting down the bezels. The manufacturers have shrunk the bezels to get as much as 84.9% of  the front of the phone to be glass. In the manufacturers' quest of getting to a phone whose front is entirely screen, the hindrances have been the space occupied by the front facing camera, earpiece, ambient light sensor and proximity sensor. These components are crucial to the functionality of our smartphones, so we can't get rid of them. Manufacturers have been trying to come up with solutions to overcome the space occupied by these components and maximize the screen to body ratio.

From top to bottom: Notch in the PH-1, notch in the iPhone X

At the end of 2016, Xiaomi made the first attempt to solve this problem. The Mi MiX had an impressive 83.6% screen to body ratio and it replicated the functionality of the proximity sensor and earpiece using an ultrasound sensor and piezoelectic motor respectively. The Essential PH-1, which has the highest screen to body ratio of 84.9%, introduced the concept of the notch. The PH-1 has a notch to accommodate the front facing camera and there is a very tiny earpiece located at the top of the phone. The concept of notch was further popularized by Apple with the iPhone X and now we have several smartphones featuring a notch. Although the notch does help in increasing the glass on front of the phone, it is not a solution to 100% screen to body ratio. The Vivo Apex was one of the first attempts in that direction. In the Apex, Vivo included a retracting selfie camera. When the front camera has to be used, it would pop out from the top of the phone like a periscope does from a submarine. Once the camera is used, it will retract to where it came from. The Apex doesn't have an earpiece speaker, and instead vibrates the entire screen to produce sound. The Vivo Apex has an insane screen to body ratio exceeding 98%. Chinese company Doogee has now come up with another solution to the aforementioned problem. The result is a prototype which has a screen percentage just shy of that of the Apex

YouTuber Mrwhosetheboss recently unboxed the prototype of the Doogee Mix 4. The Mix 4 prototype is a slider phone which has an astounding 97% screen on the front. The front facing camera, earpiece and sensors are hidden and can be revealed by sliding the phone down.

The ambient light sensor is used for automatically adjusting the brightness of phone based on the light in the surroundings, but since the sensor is located on the slider, it will be hidden when normally using the phone. It will be interesting to see how Doogee goes about including automatic brightness. Like the ambient sensor, the proximity sensor is included on the slider. The proximity sensor is used to make out whether the phone is close to the ear while making calls. I guess that while making calls the slider would have to be opened. An additional functionality of receiving the calls by sliding the phone would be an extra bonus.

In addition to the innovative design, the Mix 4 will seemingly be sporting an in-display fingerprint scanner. Doogee has told Mrwhosetheboss that they will be making use of a Snapdragon processor for the Mix 4, instead of the usual MediaTek Helio chipset which was used for previous generation Mix phones.

Since this is only a prototype, we do not know every tidbit of information. What we do know though is that the Mix 4 will be thicker than usual at 11 millimeters (that's because it is a slider phone) and it will have a dual camera setup at the back. Arun Maini aka Mrwhosetheboss expects the Mix 4 to be released by the end of the year and like previous Mix phones, the Mix 4 is expected to be priced below $300.

Source: Mrwhosetheboss

[Image credits - Mrwhosetheboss, Apple, Essential]

Krittin Kalra

Krittin Kalra is a 20 year old Android freak. Striving for passions, chasing down his dreams and living a life without regrets is his sole mantra. A bit moody, he also does custom ROM reviews for AndroGuider. Currently pursuing his B.Tech, he aspires to follow his heart.