Xiaomi‘s latest foldable smartphone took center stage after cofounder and CEO Lei Jun delivered his annual speech in China.
As it turns out, the Xiaomi MIX Fold 3 could very well be a worthy upgrade over its predecessor — at least on paper — bringing with it improvements in design, imaging, and performance.
The device is even slimmer than last year’s Xiaomi MIX Fold 2, partly because of the company’s self-developed vertical stack motherboard. Think as thin as 10.86mm when closed and 5.26mm when unfolded as opposed to 11.2mm and 5.4mm, respectively. While it isn’t as skinny as the HONOR Magic V2, the thickness is still definitely impressive for a folding phone.
A big YES!#XiaomiMIXFold3 #LeiJunAnnualSpeech #XiaomiLaunchAugust2023 https://t.co/zjhRdhEtLw
— Xiaomi (@Xiaomi) August 14, 2023
Official Xiaomi MIX Fold 3 product video
There’s also a new, proprietary zero-hinge technology that allows the mechanism to take up 17% less internal space. Even better, the tech now lets you use a MIX Fold model in Flex mode, so the unit stays open at multiple angles — between 45 and 135 degrees. That’s not all, as the hinge is rated for a whopping 500,000 folds.
Empowering the #XiaomiMIXFold3, our proprietary hinge technology brings forth:
— Xiaomi (@Xiaomi) August 14, 2023
📂45° – 135° Hover mode
📖An astonishing 500,000 folds#LeiJunAnnualSpeech #XiaomiLaunchAugust2023 🟠📷🔴 pic.twitter.com/6ZjC5uHTTF
Newly designed hinge
You get two E6 OLED screens with support for up to 120Hz refresh rate here. The external panel measures 6.56 inches, offers a maximum of 2,560 nits peak brightness, and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2. The inner display, on the other hand, spans 8.03 inches, features 1,960 x 2,160px resolution, and brings Ultra Thin Glass for added sturdiness.
As with the company’s current premium smartphones, the Xiaomi MIX Fold 3 arrives with a Leica-branded camera system. On its back are four lenses, including one periscope telephoto lens. There’s a 50-megapixel Sony IMX800 main sensor with optical image stabilization, a 12-megapixel ultrawide shooter with OIS, and two 10MP telephotos — one 75mm and the other, 115mm.
Unfolding the dynamic pairing of #XiaomiMIXFold3 and @leica_camera. 🟠📷🔴
— Xiaomi (@Xiaomi) August 14, 2023
Summicron Lens, a cutting-edge quad camera system that redefines your expectations in foldable smartphones. #XiaomiLaunchAugust2023 #LeiJunAnnualSpeech pic.twitter.com/UoWWPPh7pU
More on the Xiaomi MIX Fold 3’s camera setup
Similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5, the Xiaomi MIX Fold 3 is powered by an overclocked Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. The chip is paired with up to 16GB LPDDR5X RAM and 1TB UFS 4.0 storage.
Xiaomi’s third foldable likewise features a 4,800mAh battery with support for 67-watt wired and 50-watt wireless charging, a 20-megapixel front camera, and a user interface based on Android 13.
In China, the latest MIX’s available configurations are priced as follows, whether you get the composite-fiber version or the variant with the glass back:
- 12GB/256GB: ¥8,999 (roughly P70,291 in Philippine pesos and $1,240 in U.S. dollars)
- 16GB/512GB: ¥9,999 (P78,088 or $1,377)
- 12GB/256GB: ¥10,999 (P85,898 or $1,515)
Xiaomi MIX Fold 3 specs
- 6.56-inch E6 OLED display, FHD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 2,600 nits brightness, 240Hz touch sampling, HDR10+, Dolby Vision
- 8.03-inch folding inner Samsung Eco² OLED Plus, 2,160 x 1,916 resolution, 2,600 nits brightness, 240Hz touch sampling, HDR10+, Dolby Vision
- 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 5G chipset
- Adreno 740 GPU
- 12GB/16GB LPDDR5X RAM
- 256GB/512GB/1TB UFS 4.0 storage
- Quad 50-megapixel main, 12-megapixel ultrawide, 10-megapixel periscope telephoto, 10-megapixel portrait rear cameras
- 20-megapixel front camera
- Under-display fingerprint reader
- 4,800mAh battery with 67-watt fast wired charging, 50-watt fast wireless charging
- MIUI based on Android 13
- IP8 rating
- Colors: Black, green, and cream