Xiaomi’s Mi 9 Explorer Edition won’t actually show off its internals

When Xiaomi released the Mi 8 Explorer Edition last year, it gathered a ton of attention for featuring a cool transparent rear that offered a peek into the smartphone’s motherboard and processor. However, this was all well-executed fakery as there was a sheet covering the real internals. Now, with the Mi 9 Explorer Edition, Xiaomi looks to right the wrongs of last year’s handset by announcing a see-through rear design that’s not a fancy plate placed over the actual internals.

As per a report by Android Police, Xiaomi has adopted a different approach with the Mi 9 Explorer Edition. With this handset, unlike last year’s when they claimed it was the real deal, the CEO and founder, Lei Jun has posted on Weibo that with this handset, they will not, in fact, display the internals; but rather they have etched the design on a 0.3mm aluminium sheet. Jun states that to achieve the look of the internals, they will etch out a design on a super thin aluminium sheet with a CNC machine using a miniscule cutter to create all of the tiny details that will be visible.