Rumour has it that Xiaomi is preparing to launch the very first completely button-free smartphone with a front-facing camera positioned under the screen. Previously, this type of device has never gone beyond the concept stage, but things could be set to change in 2025.

According to the Indian website Smartprix, from next year, Xiaomi could be marketing a completely new kind of smartphone, with no physical buttons whatsoever. Codenamed "Zhuque,” the project looks attractive on paper, but in practice it poses countless challenges for the Chinese manufacturer.

Without buttons (to turn the device on/off, adjust the volume, take screenshots, etc.), how will the user be able to control the device? For this, the smartphone could very well feature pressure-sensitive edges, or be capable of responding to voice or gesture commands. Indeed, the entire relationship of a user with their smartphone could be turned upside down, if only to perform tasks like restarting the device when necessary, for example.

Until now, this type of technology has never gone beyond the concept stage. From 2018 to 2020, Vivo proposed a whole series of prototypes of this kind. The latest of these, the APEX 2020, features a display that eliminates the edges and bezel of the front panel, leaving no physical notches or buttons visible, these being replaced by a pressure-responsive haptic sensor. Moreover, the device has no ports, benefiting from ultra-fast wireless charging.

Placing the front camera directly under the screen will save space and get rid of the notch or cutout that usually houses this feature. Here again, this has already been tried out several years ago by Vivo, ZTE and Samsung, but hasn't been taken up widely since.

According to Smartprix, the final version of the "Zhuque” could be on the market in 2025, but there's no indication as to whether it will be sold outside of China.

 - AFP Relaxnews