Xiaomi is trying to put the super-curved waterfall display technology to good use, as per a new patent. While we have seen a few takes on how waterfall displays can be implemented on smartphones, Xiaomi’s new patent shows a fresh take on how the sides can be made more functional.
If this patent sees the light of the day, Xiaomi could move elements such as quick shortcuts and notification bar in MIUI to the curved edges of the display. It is a relatively fresh patent, which means Xiaomi could be working on a top-end waterfall display phone for the future. Adopted early last year by Vivo on the NEX 3, “waterfall displays” are referred to as such because of their high curve degree at the edges, even more so than Samsung’s standard curved panels. These bend to almost 90-degrees on the sides.
The patent, uncovered by LetsGoDigital, goes into detail as to how the curved edges can be utilized to free up space on the central screen. For illustration, the status icons, such as the battery and network indicators, can be seen on the left edge in what appears to be a media player app. The right edge of the same app seems to have the home button on it. Another example of the new UI seems to be the browser where the left edge has an open tab ticker, besides other things such as time and the settings option. The right side has the same functions as the earlier described app. Two lock screen implementations have been pictured as well, but they’re much more straightforward and cleaner than the apps.
Also, the diagram in the patent shows no traces of a front camera, which could mean that these software features could be implemented on a concept smartphone with an under-display camera or a pop-up camera.
Most smartphone OEMs seem to be worried about the edge detection issues that could crop up with such curved displays; however, Xiaomi has completely opposite thoughts. Instead of making the edges useless, Xiaomi wants to integrate them into a seamless UI experience. Something similar was seen on Xiaomi’s concept Mi MIX Alpha. However, whether this implementation will really be useful on a day-to-day basis is something we’ve yet to see.
As of now, the patent is just that, a patent until we see a smartphone arrive with it in the future. If there is such a device, it will likely be one of Xiaomi’s flagship models.
