Honor, the Huawei sub-brand, sprang a surprise by releasing a new concept phone named as Honor Magic. It’s not a regular phone that we use in our day-to-day life, but a “concept” that can change the way we see smartphones. Not to be left behind, Xiaomi recently unveiled its own version of a “concept” phone by launching the first bezel-less smartphone, the Xiaomi Mi Mix. so who edges out this shootout of ‘concepts’?
Design
Starting with the Xiaomi Mi Mix, the smartphone has achieved what many died trying: a bezel-less display. The front is dominated by an almost perfect edge-to-edge 6.4-inch display and a screen-to-body ratio of 91.3 per cent. And yes, there is no forehead, there is one at the bottom, and rest is all part of the screen. The company did a clever thing by replacing the Proximity Sensor with an ultrasound sensor and for the ear piece Xiaomi has included a Pizoeletric sensor which vibrates the metal frame to generate sound. Pretty impressive, one must say. And the company has used ceramic as a build material, enhancing the look and feel. The same material has been used in Apple Watch Series 2 and in a special edition of OnePlus X. The device is just 7.9mm thick and is weighs in just a little overweight at 209 grams. 
On the other hand, the Honor Magic is a design marvel in its own right. The smartphone also comes with a bezel-less display and with its 5.09-inch screen, makes for a compact device. But what makes it even more interesting is the curved display and Honor has taken one step further and have added a curving along the top side. The three round edges coupled with a glass and metal combo gives it a sturdy look. The Honor Magic is just 7.8mm thick and weighs only 145 grams, making it one of the slimmest and lightest devices present in the market.
Display
This is where it gets interesting. Both the devices come with a bezel-less design. And run neck & neck in the display department. While the Xiaomi Mi Mix sports a 6.4-inch display with a screen Resolution of 2040 x 1080 pixels (362 ppi pixel density), the Honor Magic sports is more compact and comes with a 5.09-inch AMOLED QHD curved display with a screen resolution 2560×1440 pixels (577 ppi pixel density). Although, Xiaomi does have an edgeless display, it is Honor Magic, which comes with a better display with higher screen resolution and Pixel density and noses ahead.
Hardware and Battery
The Xiaomi Mi Mix is powered by the latest state-of-the-art Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor coupled with Adreno 530. The smartphone comes with 4GB RAM with 128GB storage. There is also a 6GB RAM with 256GB storage variant. The device is juiced by a 4400 mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 technology. On the connectivity front, the device offers 4G with VoLTE, Bluetooth 4.2, WiFi (802.11 b/g/n), GPS with AGS/GLONASS and USB Type C. 
On the other hand, the Honor Magic is powered by the company’s in-house octa-core Hisilicon Kirin 950 processor. The device is backed by a 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The device is powered by a 2,900mAh battery with company’s latest Huawei Magic Power quick charge technology which the company boasts can charge the device up to 70 per cent in just 20 minutes. On the connectivity front, the device comes equipped with Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2, USB Type-C, GPS, AGPS, GLONASS and BeiDou Navigation Satellite System.
Looking at the sheer spec sheet, the Xiaomi Mi Mix emerges as a clear winner as it sports a much more advanced processor, more storage and battery backup as compared to the Honor Magic. That extra weight had to be worth something, right?
Software
The Xiaomi Mi Mix runs on the Android Marshmallow 6.0.1-based MIUI 8. On the other hand, the Honor Magic also runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow but it comes with a new UI from Huawei named as Honor Magic Live. And yes the smartphone major USP is its AI-backed software.
The device comes with a host of new innovative features like WiseScreen sensor which scans your face using an Infrared sensor to double check your identity before unlocking the phone; FaceCode Intelligent Recognition, which displays notifications and authentication. Only after it verifies who’s holding the smartphone will one be able to access the device. There is also a The Smart Display feature in Honor Magic which proactively retrieves and displays practical information, anticipating users’ need. Without any doubt, this round goes to the Honor Magic.
Camera
On the camera front, the Xiaomi Mi Mix offers a 16-megapixel Autofocus rear camera with dual tone LED flash, PDAF, f/2.0 aperture, 4K video recording and a 5-megapixel front camera. While, the Honor Magic sports a 12-megapixel dual camera with f/2.2, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash and an-8-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies and video calling.
On paper, the Honor Magic seems to have an upper hand in terms of Megapixel of the front and rear (it sports dual rear camera). But it would be interesting to see the camera performance of both the devices.
Wrapping up
To conclude, Honor Magic come with a price tag of 3,699 yuan (Rs 36,000 approx), while the 4GB RAM and 128GB storage variant of the Xiaomi Mi Mix is priced at CNY 3,499 (approx. Rs 34,500) and both of them are not coming to India anytime soon.
Both of the devices are design marvels in their own right. On one hand, the Xiaomi Mi Mix shines bright with edgeless display coupled with some top-of-the-line hardware. The Honor Magic, on the other hand, give a “magical†performance with its intelligent Sensors and a layer of AI-based software. At the end of the day, we think that those who prefer the edgeless display coupled with some insane specs will go for Xiaomi Mi Mix, while those seeking a much richer experience in software department will opt for the Honor Magic. But as concept phones go, both meet the ultimate test. Do we want them to hit the market and soon? You bet we do!