You may have seen various concepts of phones without physical buttons on the internet. VIVO has shown such a project with its concept phone, the VIVO Apex 2019, which makes use of capacitive buttons or pressure-sensitive buttons to mimic physical buttons.
However, it seems like Xiaomi is all set to launch a button-less smartphone and that too as early as next year. According to a new leak by tipster chuvn8888 (via Smartprix), Chinese OEM Xiaomi, is working on a flagship device codenamed "Zhuque" that will not feature any physical power or volume buttons.
This button-less device is purportedly currently in development and is expected to launch sometime in 2025. There is no information yet about the technology Xiaomi may be planning to use in its button-less phone. There is speculation that it could involve a combination of capacitive buttons, pressure-sensitive sensors, and vibration motors to register input.
It is also rumored that Xiaomi"s flagship button-less phone could support gesture controls or even voice commands. Additionally, Xiaomi might also use an under-display selfie camera and the phone is expected to be powered by the upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 4 processor.
Xiaomi is rumored to use the same chipset in its upcoming Xiaomi 15S Pro smartphone, scheduled to launch in the second quarter of 2025. Since Xiaomi"s button-less phone is still in the early stages of its development, details about the device"s camera, display, or battery are currently unavailable.
Aside from this button-less phone, Xiaomi is also rumored to be working on a tri-folding phone. Meanwhile, Xiaomi"s Chinese counterpart, Huawei, is expected to launch the world"s first tri-folding phone next month, confirmed directly by the company"s CEO. Huawei"s tri-folding phone has already been spotted in the wild a couple of times and it appears to be pretty thin when folded.