Chinese brands prepare full-screen smartphone launches to compete head-to-head with Apple’s iPhone 8

China’s top smartphone brands are lining up to launch their own full-screen models, in an attempt to steal the thunder of Apple’s much-hyped tenth anniversary edition, or the “iPhone 8”, set to be released on September 12.

Apple has sent out much-prized media invitations for what will be the first ever event to be held in the Steve Jobs Theatre, at its new campus named “Spaceship” in Silicon Valley.

Guests will be presented with an upgraded version of the current iPhone 7 series, as well the widely anticipated tenth-year anniversary edition, that comes with major new designs including an edge-to-edge screen without a “home” button in sight.

On Wednesday, Chinese maker Xiaomi, the country’s fifth domestic player according to second quarter shipments recorded by China’s Counterpoint Research, announced it will release its “Mi Mix 2” scheduled in Beijing on September 11, which will be an upgraded version of its last year’s bezel-free “Mi Mix”, that features a 6.4-inch screen with almost 85 per cent screen-to-body ratio.

The firm said on its official Sina Weibo account it was now fully in into “the full-screen handset era”, after releasing the bezel-free Mi Mix in October, 2016, considered the first of its kind in the industry, and that its new model will bring about what it calls “evolution close to perfection”.