Xiaomi Might be Working on a Solar Panel Smartphone - Android

It's not big enough to run the smartphone.… Read More

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Tech companies have been filing patents for weird and outlandish smartphones recently. IBM and Samsung both patented multi-display smartphones recently which don’t seem practical at all.

Xiaomi has gone ahead and patented its own weird smartphone as well, going with a phone that has a solar panel on its back.

Xiaomi’s mobile software department applied for the patent with WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) in July last year but it was only made public recently.

The smartphone is supposed to have a solar cell module on the back, the purpose of which is pretty unclear considering that a small solar panel cannot run a smartphone.

Anyhow, the patent includes some sketches which give us the idea of what the smartphone will look in case it makes it to the market.

In the sketches, we can’t see a selfie camera on the front which leads us to believe that Xiaomi might be planning to go with an under-display camera. There is also a possibility of pop-up selfie camera but since there is no indication in the patent, it is unlikely.

Moving on to the rear camera, the sketches show a dual-sensor rear camera with an LED flash. There is no fingerprint sensor since almost all of the back is covered with the solar panel, which is the most noticeable part of the smartphone’s design.

Some OEMs have explored the idea of solar-powered smartphones in the past but none of them made a breakthrough. Let’s see what Xiaomi does in this arena. However, getting a patent accepted does not mean the company will go through with the idea.

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