This folding phone does something different, and I love it

Two things stand out about the Xiaomi Mix Flip — the brand ’s first heavyset shut down flip phone — and both make it really interesting . The first is a cover screen that I actually feel prosperous using , and the 2nd is the deletion of a feature most of us have come to consider received on any phone .

It turns out that it may not be a bad omission at all . Here ’s what ’s dissimilar about the Xiaomi Mix Flip , and why I love it .

Meet the Xiaomi Mix Flip

Before I go into my experience with the Xiaomi Mix Flip , here are the newspaper headline specs . On the outside is a 4.01 - in , 120Hz , 1392 x 1208 pixel CRT screen , which Xiaomi calls an “ All Around Liquid ” exhibit . The cameras sit inside the filmdom rather than give birth a cutout for them . afford the sound , and you get a 6.86 - inch , 1 - 120Hz , 2912 x 1224 pixel blind .

Performance amount from a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor with 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of interior warehousing space , plus a 4780mAh battery with 67W riotous charging using Xiaomi ’s HyperCharge telegraph system . It does not have wireless charging . The phone has an aluminum frame , stereo speakers , Android 14 with Xiaomi ’s HyperOS interface , and Wi - Fi 7 .

The camera is creditworthy for the missing feature I mentioned . It has a 50 - megapixel Light Fusion 800 camera with an f/1.7 aperture and optical persona stabilisation ( OIS ) and a second 50MP telephoto camera with a 2x and 4x quick access toggle in the app .

A person holding the Xiaomi Mix Flip, showing the Instagram app.

Xiaomi Mix Flip with InstagramAndy Boxall / Digital Trends

See what ’s missing ? The Xiaomi Mix Flip is one of the first phones in a while not to have a all-embracing - slant photographic camera , and it ’s really strange not to see a 0.6x or 0.5x option in the television camera app .

An excellent cover screen

Swapping what could have been a lacklustre wide - slant photographic camera for a trendier zoom camera is an interesting decision , and I ’ll come back to my former examination with it in a moment . But before that , I want to talk about the brilliant out cover on the Mix Flip . Idon’t usually worry much for cover screenswith high-pitched levels of functionality , but Xiaomi has arrest the mix ( sorry ) of simplicity , ironware , and features just right here .

It make excellent role of the distance . Most of the blind is taken up with an app control grid , but the subdivision above the cameras has a appliance that can be swiped through to show the weather , a clock , and antecedently used apps . You swipe down on the screen to show notification as normal . The high resolution and brightness make it so usable , and because it ’s so smooth and reactive , it ’s pleasant to do so . There ’s more than enough functionality that operates with the lower limit of dither and input signal . There are nosilly apps to set up to make it all work .

you may choose from a lean of various apps to use on the proscribed screen , and they are initialise very well , let in WhatsApp and Instagram . I do n’t reallywantto use either for very long on the relatively small-scale screen , but I could do so if I wanted . The software is so libertine and antiphonal that I do n’t need to open up the telephone set to do the basic principle , and that ’s how I ’ve been living with the Mix Flip . It ’s much easier to adjust up and more convenient to use than theSamsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 ’s cover concealment , and a higher - caliber panel than on theMotorola Razr Plus 2024 . It ’s excellent , and a real reason to pick the Mix Flip over its contender .

A person holding the Xiaomi Mix Flip, showing a notification.

Notifications on the Xiaomi Mix FlipAndy Boxall / Digital Trends

Wide-angle or telephoto?

The 2x scene appear much more how I ’d anticipate the independent camera to do in some situations so far , with punchy colors , balanced exposure levels , and a decent level of detail . It does n’t always work out this room though , revealing cosmopolitan inconsistency between the camera and modes . The differences between them really show up when you view a sequence of image taken at 1x , 2x , and 4x . The 4x shots are understandably digitally heighten , and lack distinctness when you crop the icon down .

Is the telephotograph better than a all-inclusive - angle ? It ’s analternative , and I think it ’s more usable than an8 - megapixel broad - angle camera , but there ’s grow grounds that speech sound can take excellent 2x shots without a telephotograph photographic camera , so its presence may be somewhat superfluous . In the few photos I ’ve take , the Mix Flip ’s camera overall needs refining , but I am pleased to see an choice to a inadequate - quality wide - slant onboard .

Can it beat the competition?

Xiaomi face up serious contender from the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and the Motorola Razr 2024 , and ditching the wide - angle camera is a cunning path to differentiate it from them . In our separate exam , the Galaxy Z Flip 6 ’s wide - slant camera wasno well than the Galaxy Z Flip 5’sorthe Razr 2024 ’s wide - angle . They are fine , but nothing more . It ’s refreshing to see Xiaomi reposition off from what we may have reckon standard to something different . What about the eternal rest of the phone ?

Folded it ’s quite thick at 16 mm , a millimeter more than the Galaxy Z Flip 6 , and about the same when unfolded . It makes it feel chunky and substantial in your hand , and it ’s a little concerning there ’s no IP evaluation for water or dust security . I also do n’t like the style the privileged hinge trade protection is evoke above the screen , as it look cheap and feels unpleasant . The phone librate 190 grams , so generally the same as the competition , and the flexible joint is mute and well - dampened . It ca n’t match the Galaxy Z Flip 6 ’s hardware , but it vie well against the Razr 2024 .

Xiaomi has not announce the price or the release details at the clip of writing , and it will need to be cheaper than the Galaxy Z Flip 6 — which is a hardware superstar — to be free-enterprise . Provided it is , then the Mix Flip will be one to take — not only because it goes in a unlike counselling with the photographic camera but because I ’m authentically strike by the taboo screen and the software , and am drawn to using it in a room I ’m not with other compact protein folding phones . As far as close flip phone go , this is a extra one .

The back of the open Xiaomi Mix Flip.