Bezels? What bezels? The Doogee Mix 4 does away with them almost entirely

• YouTube user Mrwhosetheboss got hands-on time with a prototype Mix 4 from Chinese company Doogee.
• The Mix 4 is notable for its 97% screen-to-body ratio and dual-layer design.
• The phone will also feature an under-glass fingerprint sensor in the final design.

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If someone mentions a bezel-less display, they really mean a display with minimal bezels on the sides. As silly as its name might be, Chinese manufacturer Doogee and its Mix 4 are very serious about doing away with those pesky bezels almost completely.

We say almost because the Mix 4 features a whopping 97 percent screen-to-body ratio. The ratio allows the phone to feature a 6-inch display in a much smaller footprint than the Galaxy S9 Plus, which features a 6.2-inch display.

This also allows the Mix 4 to possibly claim the title as the smartphone with the highest screen-to-body ratio, with the Essential Phone a distant second at approximately 85%. The Mix 4 has not outright won that title, since it is still a prototype. Nonetheless, the phone is an impressive feat of engineering from a design standpoint.

The Mix 4 achieves such a high screen-to-body ratio with another innovative feature: a sliding mechanism that hides the selfie camera and accompanying sensors. The mechanism gives the phone a dual-layer design that, while thicker than the Galaxy S9 and Pixel 2, looks unlike anything else out there today.

Mrwhosetheboss

It also helps that the Mix 4's final design will feature an under-glass fingerprint sensor. The fingerprint logo on the front is reminiscent of the Vivo X20 Plus UD, though we do not know if the Mix 4 uses the same technology as Vivo's offering.

Unfortunately, the Mix 4 could be an example of form over function. The same area that houses the selfie camera also houses the proximity and ambient light sensors, along with the earpiece. As such, you would have to slide the phone down each time you want to take a selfie, make and receive a phone call, or properly enable auto-brightness.

YouTube user Mrwhosetheboss, who went hands-on with the prototype Mix 4 in the video above, also said the dual-layer design could lead to flexing and creaking. The prototype reportedly felt solid in the hand, but those are valid concerns.

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Such compromises are glaring, but they are inevitable if you want something like the Mix 4. The phone is a sneak peek at where smartphone design might be headed, for better or worse.

Doogee did not say when folks could get their hands on its slice of the future, however. Seeing how the original Mix and Mix 2 were launched six months apart, and the Mix 3 could launch in June, the Mix 4 might be available by year's end.

Whenever it launches, the Mix 4 will reportedly feature a Snapdragon processor and a lower price tag than the OnePlus 5T or Honor View 10. Let us know in the comments whether the Mix 4 is something that could grace your pockets.

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