Not only did Xiaomi fire direct shots at Apple with their announcement of the flagship 17 Pro Max and its functional camera plateau with a built-in display, the company’s also sort of catching other brands in the crossfire for not really capitalizing on the dual-display design. While Nothing’s busy building Rock Paper Scissor into their Glyph Matrix displays on the Nothing Phone (3), Xiaomi’s literally turning its phone into a micro-gaming paradise, with actual playable games like Angry Birds.
The difference is that this gameplay occurs on the tiny screen on the back of the phone, conserving battery (unlike most battery-sucking full-screen games) while giving you a whimsical toy to play with when you aren’t using your phone to check Slack, answer emails, and reply to IG DMs. This is the MOST compelling attempt Xiaomi’s ever made for a dual-display phone, and whether you like it or not, you have to agree that it’s definitely an upgrade over existing phones, and more so over Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro.
Designer: Xiaomi
The case, which comes as an optional add-on for the 17 Pro Max (Xiaomi’s 17 Pro Max, not the iPhone 17 Pro Max), is sheer genius. It pulls power wirelessly from the phone itself, and connects wirelessly to the device too. There’s around 2mm of travel on the keys, so it does feel fairly substantial, and the wireless communication means minimal lag. That being said, you aren’t playing AAA games on the mini screen any way.
The way the case works is simply by popping it onto the phone and pressing the Start button to power it on. Once you’ve done so, it automatically also fires up the 17 Pro Max’s gaming emulator on the mini screen, allowing you to choose from a bunch of built-in games (including Angry Birds 2).
The case starts at roughly $40 USD (although it’s strictly a China-only release, just like the phone), and packs a 200mAh battery that gives you 40 days of gaming (assuming you play for 3 hours a day). That number really doesn’t matter, considering the case also wirelessly pulls power from your phone to charge itself. The only downside to this otherwise rather fun and quirky experience is that it disables your 17 Pro Max’s wireless charging capability, so you can’t simply place your device on a charging mat or puck while the retro handheld case is on. That’s a pretty small price to pay if you ask me, considering the flip-side is being able to play a bunch of really fun, entertaining games on your phone’s secondary screen. Or maybe just ditch everything and game normally on the main screen like a regular human… who am I to tell you what to do?!
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