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This mystery 4.3-inch phone could be Xiaomi’s answer to the iPhone SE

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Aloysius Low/CNET
Just when we thought phones couldn’t get any larger, it looks like going smaller might be en vogue again. Just last week, Apple introduced the iPhone SE, which sports the same sized 4-inch display as the popular iPhone 5S from 2013. Now it appears Apple isn’t alone in its thinking because Xiaomi might be planning something very similar.

An alleged picture of an unknown Xiaomi device recently showed up on Chinese site Weibo, which supposedly sports a 4.3-inch display. Unfortunately the image doesn’t reveal much, but we do see that it has a similar home button as the Xiaomi Mi5. This button could be a fingerprint sensor as well.

Xiaomi_Rumored_4.3-Inch_Phone_2016_02
Image used with permission by copyright holder

As far as specs go, the rumor is that it’ll have a blend of mid-range and high-end hardware. The display’s resolution is expected to be 720p or 1280 x 720 pixels. That’s pretty low, but let’s not forget it’s only 4.3-inches. However, this mystery phone could be as powerful as the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge as its rumored to sport the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor.

The rest of the alleged specs include 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, and a 13-megapixel rear camera. The phone is likely to run Android.

Why would Xiaomi launch such a device? Rumor has it the company wants to respond to Apple’s iPhone SE. Unfortunately we don’t know if that’s really true or not, but we do know that the 4.3-inch Xiaomi Mi 2 from a few years ago was a very popular phone. Xiaomi might want to simply offer a device for the people who do appreciate a compact phone.

Although smaller phones aren’t nearly as popular as the larger counterparts found today, they aren’t totally extinct either. Sony recently launched the Xperia Z5 Compact, which is also a very powerful, smaller phone.

Just like any rumor, you should take this with a grain of salt. However, if any of it is true, this mystery phone could be available in June for around $278. We’ll keep you posted.

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