Xiaomi is an interesting company. The same day that it announces a phone that looks almost identical to the Galaxy Note 7, it follows up with another that looks like nothing else out there. The Mi Note 2 could stand in for any Samsung or Huawei phone from the past year, but Xiaomi says that the future is all-screen, no bezel, and that includes pioneering a number of ways to hide sensors that we rely on every day in our current devices.
There's no current plan to bring the Mi Mix to America — heck, neither phone will be sold outside China for the foreseeable future — but Xiaomi keeps trolling the industry, operating at once as a master of mimicry and a master of ambition. Perhaps the two aren't mutually exclusive these days.
And now, the news you need today.
Demand for Google Pixel outstripping supply
Good news for Google, bad news for impatient customers. Google says that demand for all models of the Pixel, especially the Pixel XL, is outpacing supply right now, leading to wait times into late November for those who ordered the phone. The company told 9to5Google:
We're thrilled to see the excitement for our new Pixel phones, and frankly pre-order demand has exceeded our expectations. We're working to restock our inventory as soon as possible.
Xiaomi's concept phone is the gadget we've all been waiting for
Xiaomi's Mi Mix doesn't have a home button, bezels, or a proximity sensor. There's no earpiece either, with the phone transmitting sound through a piezoelectric ceramic drive instead. What it does have is a 91.3% screen-to-body ratio, and a serious price tag. More{.cta}
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 has high-end specs, global LTE bands
Xiaomi also introduced the Mi Note 2, a high-end phone with a 5.7-inch dual curved QHD display and Snapdragon 821. The handset is the first from Xiaomi to offer global LTE bands, making it compatible with carriers in the UK, U.S., and other Western markets. More
BlackBerry has a new phone, and it's not really a BlackBerry
BlackBerry's new DTEK60 is yet another rebranded TCL construct, which is fine because it's much more powerful than the last TCL construct. More
Samsung Pay hits a huge expansion on its one-year anniversary
The addition of three new countries rounds out the total supported to 10 for the payment service. Bigger still is the new expansion to online payments through a partnership with Mastercard's Masterpass system, as well as the addition of in-app purchase support for apps that wish to partner with Samsung. More
Amazon adds even more Dash buttons
Amazon has added 60 new Dash buttons, including Cheez-It, Coca-Cola, Pop-Tarts, Powerade, Purell, and more.
Google Store adds three new Android Wear watches
Though Android Wear 2.0's release has been pushed back to early 2017, the Google Store has added new listings for the Nixon Mission, Polar M600 and Michael Kors Access. The watches aren't cheap, but have the hardware set to run Android Wear 2.0 when it becomes available.
Google's 'Jamboard' is a huge collaborative touchscreen for businesses
The 55-inch 4K touchscreen is meant to replace the cluttered whiteboards in office spaces, and integrates fully with Google's full G Suite of enterprise services. Host video chats, collaborate remotely and pull in information from Docs, Sheets, Drive and more all on a huge screen. It's going on sale for "under $6000" starting in 2017
WhatsApp adds video calling
WhatsApp's latest Android beta has added video calling, a long-awaited feature that puts its billion-plus users within reach of a full-stack, business-ready messaging experience. More
AT&T's DirecTV Now will cost $35, zero-rate mobile data
AT&T's direct-to-consumer streaming television product, DirecTV Now, will debut in November for $35 and include "more than 100 channels," according to a report by Business Insider. The service will, perhaps most interestingly, zero-rate mobile data for AT&T subscribers, meaning that customers won't need to pinch bandwidth pennies when streaming over the provider's 4G LTE network.
That's it from us! See you tomorrow, and take care of yourselves.
