Chinese phone maker Xiaomi introduced a new phone — the Mi Play — today, and with it, a new notch. The device features a circular camera notch that’s not a hole-punch design, like we’ve seen on Samsung and Huawei devices, but instead is center-aligned and obvious. It’s a “water droplet” notch that’s very much a notch, even if it’s round. On back, the phone features dual, rear-facing cameras that are vertically-aligned, like Apple’s iPhone X line. The color choices all look lovely with trendy gradient options in purple or red.
Xiaomi’s new Mi Play features a circular camera notch and an affordable price


Xiaomi
Specs-wise, the Mi Play includes:
- 5.84-inch, 1080 x 2280 display
- MediaTek P35 processor
- 4GB of RAM with 64GB of storage
- 3,000mAh battery with a Micro USB charging port
- Rear-mounted fingerprint sensor
- 12-megapixel and 2-megapixel rear-facing cameras
Earlier this year, Xiaomi introduced its notch-less phone, the flagship Mi Mix 3, but that device starts at $475 and relies on a mechanical pop-up camera. The Mi Play, while definitely featuring a notch and large bezels, starts at 1,099 yuan, or $160. It’s unclear whether it’ll ever make it stateside, but that’s a nice price for this design.
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