The phone's rear display is finally useful for something. Xiaomi released a pocket guitar

Besides the 18 Pro series phones and new watches, Xiaomi also showcased a significantly more playful item in China. The Pocket Guitar is an accessory that magnetically snaps onto the back of a phone and uses touch buttons to simulate chords and strings. It sounds like a toy — and it is a toy, just a surprisingly well-thought-out one.

The rear display is finally useful for something

The accessory utilizes the secondary display on the back of the Xiaomi 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max models, giving it a more meaningful purpose than just displaying the time. In conjunction with the Changba app, you can play along to 15,000 licensed songs. Bluetooth handles the connection, so it also works with iPhones running iOS 14 and above.

The built-in battery has a capacity of 630 mAh and, according to the manufacturer, should last over thirty days with an hour of playing per day. The magnets also double as a stand, allowing the guitar to support the phone.

Forget about Czech availability

Unfortunately, here comes the cold shower. The price of 599 yuan corresponds to approximately 1,900 Czech crowns, which wouldn’t be terrible on its own. However, the entire accessory relies on the Chinese Changba app, making its release outside China highly improbable. Even if you were to import the Pocket Guitar, you wouldn’t get much use out of it without the local software.

Would you try playing a guitar attached to your phone, or is it nonsense?

Source: Notebookcheck, Xiaomi Youpin