With 2017 coming to a close in barely three weeks, avid watchers of the smartphone market have started speculating on what to expect in 2018. As usual, the leaks and rumours are doing the rounds and one of the first ones to draw the attention of these observers is an alleged picture of the back panel of a phone from the Xiaomi stable and it is being speculated, it is that of Mi Mix 3 that Xiaomi is expected to launch next year.

Of course, while on Xiaomi, there are already reports that suggest that Xiaomi’s next flagships, the Mi 7 and Mi 7 Plus will actually be released in March 2018.

Now, getting back to these leaked images of the alleged Mi Mix 3; the back panel seems to indicate that Xiaomi may adopt what Apple has done to its iPhone X, with the dual camera setup in vertical position, one sensor above the other and also the provision for the physical fingerprint scanner.

Since the Mi Mix 2 itself is not that old yet, there is very little possibility of major developments being revealed on the next iteration of the model. However, aspects like the display being full screen can be boldly predicted. In fact, there have already been some leaked images earlier of a prototype supposed to be that of Mi Mix 3 and it shows the smallest of bezels and full real estate on the display screen.

Launched in late October, iPhone X is the first bezel-free smartphone from Apple’s stable. The 5.8-inch smartphone also sports a dual camera and unlike all other dual camera devices so far, this has both the lens placed vertically, which is being seen in the leaks of Mi Mix 3 as well.

Meanwhile, there is widespread speculation on further details of the specifications and features of the flagships, the Xiaomi Mi 7 and the Mi 7 Plus.