Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, often referred to as the Apple of China, surprised the world on Tuesday with a brand new phone design. The Xiaomi Mi Mix has an all-screen front side and a ceramic back, but the phone is labeled as a "concept" device. Xiaomi likely can't make enough units to meet demand, and it probably announced the phone just so that it can one day say it beat Apple by more than a year with a device like this. Anyone following the smartphone business closely already knows that Apple's iPhone 8 is expected to feature new design with a screen that occupies most of the phone's front side.

This means a few things for the phone — first of all, it means that the device's speaker can be totally invisible, allowing for the screen to extend to where the speaker would otherwise be. It also means that instead of a proximity sensor, the device uses algorithms to detect when there's an object near the phone so that it can, for example, switch off the screen while you're taking a call so that your ear doesn't trigger any phone activities while you're on the phone.

The rest of the device's tech specs include 128GB of storage, 4GB of RAM and the Snapdragon 821 chip that also powers Google's Pixel phone. A more powerful version of the device can be had in a 256GB storage/6GB RAM configuration. Both offer a 4,400mAh battery--much larger than the Pixel's 3,450mAh and the 2,900mAh iPhone 7 Plus battery.

Both Samsung and Apple are expected to launch new flagship phones with displays that occupy far more of the phones' faces than they do now, but in the meantime, let's all drool over this stunning peak at the future of smartphone design. Of note, the Mi Mix will be released on November 4th starting under $515, but it will not be available in the United States.