Key Takeaways
- Xiaomi is reportedly working on a phone called “Zhuque” that could launch next year as a fully buttonless handset with a touch-sensitive screen and a hidden under-display camera.
- To handle the button-free design, Xiaomi might use capacitive or pressure-sensitive sensors and vibration motors to mimic traditional buttons and provide tactile feedback.
- Xiaomi’s buttonless phone is still in early development, so it might not launch. If it does, it’ll be among a rare group of devices without physical buttons.
A few years back, companies like HTC, Meizu, and Asus gave us a glimpse of button-less phones with their prototypes. Imagine a phone with no buttons for volume or power—just a smooth, uninterrupted screen. But if you tapped the right spot on the edge, it would react as if you’d pressed a button. In 2025, we might finally see the first button-less phone actually hit the shelves.
According to leaker Chun Bhai and Smartprix, Xiaomi is gearing up to launch a new smartphone, codenamed “Zhuque,” next year. This device supposedly aims to shake up the smartphone world by ditching all physical buttons in favor of a fully touch-sensitive screen. One of its standout features is said to be a hidden under-display front camera.
Xiaomi’s button-free smartphone is still in the early development phase, so there’s a chance it might not see the light of day. But if it does make it to market, it’ll join the ranks of a few rare devices, mostly concept models, that have completely ditched physical buttons.
Using a button-free phone might seem tricky, but Xiaomi’s innovative approach is likely to make it easier. The company is probably planning to use a mix of methods to replace traditional buttons for power and volume. Android Authority suggests the company may use capacitive buttons or pressure-sensitive sensors, and adding vibration motors could give users a tactile feel for their interactions.
The first button-free phone could be a flagship
Details about Xiaomi’s rumored button-less smartphone are still pretty thin, aside from mentions of a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 4 processor. This high-end chipset suggests the phone will be a flagship Android model with top-notch tech and possibly some groundbreaking features focused on showcasing the screen. But the initial leak didn’t shed much light on how the button-less design will actually play out.
In the coming years, it’s likely that most smartphones will either add digital buttons to replace physical ones or go fully button-free. The shift began a few years ago with the HTC U12 Plus in 2018, which was one of the first to use only pressure-sensitive buttons. Then there’s the Asus ROG Phone 2, which blended physical buttons with touch-sensitive zones as shoulder triggers, a handy feature for gaming.
