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Xiaomi unveils Starck-designed smartphone and VR headset

Move aside, Microsoft and Apple: this week it's Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi's turn to grab headlines with a new smartphone with borderless design, a phablet and a first virtual reality (VR) headset. All three are due to go on sale in China only, for the time being.

Mi Mix

This high-end smartphone stands out with its ceramic body designed by Philippe Starck. On top of that, the Xiaomi Mi Mix has a 6.4-inch display with virtually no bezel, covering over 90% of the handset's front face. This mobile breaks the norm in several ways, in fact, as the mechanical home button and earpiece speaker have been ditched to make more room for the display. Instead, Xiaomi offers a system called a "cantilever piezoelectric ceramic acoustic technology" for listening to calls. This smartphone runs on the latest version of MIUI (directly derived from Android) and comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor -- as seen in Google's new Pixel -- a 16-Megapixel main camera, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of memory. At the moment, it's only available to preorder in China, for the equivalent of $669. A higher-spec version with 6GB of RAM, 256GB of onboard storage and with gold rims around the buttons, fingerprint reader and camera is also listed for $749.

Mi Note 2

Although less groundbreaking, performance is still on the agenda with the Mi Note 2, a phablet that's reminiscent of the now defunct Samsung Note 7. This 5.7-inch smartphone has curved edges and a Snapdragon 821 processor. It comes with up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, depending on the version, and has 22.5-Megapixel and 8-Megapixel cameras. The Mi Note 2 will go on sale in China for $549.

Mi VR Glasses

Xiaomi has broadened its product range even further with a VR headset. After smartphones, action cams, ultrabooks and drones, the manufacturer is moving into the realm of virtual reality with a product similar to the Google Daydream VR. This headset is compatible with all of the brand's smartphones and comes with a remote control. The Mi VR Glasses go on sale in China for the equivalent of just $38. A relatively basic VR viewer is also available for $19.