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Xiaomi unveils its first foldable smartphone - the Mi Mix Fold

By Mariyan Slavov

Updated: Mar 30, 2021, 9:13 AM

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Xiaomi

Even though foldable smartphones have been around for more than two years now, the mass adoption of these futuristic devices has been hampered by technical issues and sky-high prices. Nevertheless, it seems that manufacturers are keen on pushing forward the foldable dream, as foldable smartphone models are now embedded into every major brand’s roadmap.

Today Xiaomi joined the foldable smartphone race with its first device with a flexible screen - the Mi Mix Fold. During its Mega Launch two-day event the Chinese manufacturer revealed a wide array of different products - including four different Mi 11 smartphone models, a smart band, a wireless router, various smart home appliances, but the star of the show was, of course, the Mi Mix Fold.

This phone features some really futuristic technologies, such as liquid lenses and in-house developed chips, so let’s dive in and take a closer look at the Mi Mix Fold.

Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold: Design and Display

The overall design philosophy of the Mi Mix Fold closely resembles that of the Samsung Fold. The phone folds inward and there’s a secondary screen on the front. There are, however, some differences. Unlike other foldable models on the market, the big inner screen of the Mi Mix Fold is free of cutouts and notches, offering that clean and sought-after edge-to-edge display experience.

The display itself is a large 8.01-inch AMOLED panel with WQHD+ resolution (2480 x 1860 pixels) and a 4:3 aspect ratio. Xiaomi says that this display is capable of shining with up to 600 nits of brightness, and it also supports HDR+ and DolbyVision. The phone is equipped with a quad-speaker system (still stereo, though), further enhancing the cinematic experience. It’s also worth mentioning that the sound system is jointly developed with Harman Kardon.

The other display is also of the AMOLED variety and has a 6.52-inch diagonal. It’s a 90Hz refresh rate panel with a 2520 x 840 resolution, and like its bigger and shyer flexible sibling that prefers to hide on the inside of the Mi Mix Fold, supports DolbyVision.

Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold: Hardware

Unsurprisingly, the Mi Mix Fold features the latest silicon from the Qualcomm foundries - the Snapdragon 888. During the event, there wasn’t any information that the chip has received any special treatment like overclocking but it seems that cooling was one of Xiaomi’s main focuses integrating the chipset in this foldable device.

The Mi Mix Fold supports Wi-Fi 6 and 5G, and that’s just a natural consequence of using the Snapdragon 888 platform. The base model comes equipped with 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of internal storage. There’s a 512GB variant, and also a special edition that features a ceramic back and 16/512GB memory configuration.

Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold full specifications:

	Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold
Main Display	8.01” flexible OLED 4:3 aspect ratio WQHD+ resolution, 1 billion colors, DCI-P3 60 Hz refresh rate; 120Hz touch sampling rate 900nits peak brightness, 600nits overall brightness 4,300,000:1 contrast ratio HDR10+, Dolby Vision JNCD≈0.29 and ΔE≈0.35 Supports MEMC
Front Display	6.5” AMOLED display 90Hz refresh rate, 180Hz touch sampling rate 27:9 screen ratio, 2520 x 840 resolution 900nit peak brightness, 650nit overall brightness TrueColor display, JNCD≈0.55 ΔE≈0.52 Super Resolution, both for video and images HDR10+
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
Rear Camera	Self-developed Surge C1 image processing chip 108MP HM2 primary sensor, 1/1.52”, 7P, 2.1μm (9-in-1)large pixels The world’s first liquid lens, 8MP, 80mm equivalent focal length, 3cm minimum focusing distance 123° ultra-wide angle lens, 13MP, F2.4 aperture 1.12μm
Front Camera	20MP front camera
Memory	LPDDR5 3200MHz + UFS 3.1 12/256GB 12/512GB 16/512GB
Connectivity	Dual 5G stand-by, Wi-Fi 6
Battery & Charging	5,020mAh double-cell design 67W wired turbo charging 37 min to 100%
Colors	Black, Ceramic Special Edition
OS	MIUI 12 based on Android 10
Dimensions & Weight	Extended: 173.27mm x 133.38mm x 7.62mm Folded: 173.27mm x 69.8mm x 17.2mm Black：317g Ceramic Special Edition：332g

Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold: Camera

The main camera module in the Mi Mix Fold uses the same 108MP sensor we saw in the Mi 11i. Using clever pixel binning techniques it can combine 9 pixels into one huge 2.1µm pixel for better low-light shots. There’s a 13MP ultra-wide camera next to the main lens with a 123-degree FOV.

The third camera is something Xiaomi is calling a telemacro lens, and it is the most interesting of the bunch. It features a liquid lens technology, where the lens itself is made out of transparent liquid placed between two membranes. Instead of using several lens elements to change focus, liquid lenses use motors or electricity to change the shape of the lens itself.

In the case of the Mi Mix Fold, the use of this technology has allowed for 3X optical zoom, up to 30X telephoto, and a minimum focus distance of 3cm for macro photography. Thus the name tele-macro camera. According to Xiaomi, the liquid inside the lens can operate in a wide temperature range - from -40°C up to 60°C.

The other big innovation inside the Mi Mix Fold comes in the form of a custom ISP+ chip, developed in-house by Xiaomi. The Surge C1 chip should provide better and faster autofocus, auto white balance, and other improvements in image processing.

Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold: Battery and Charging

The Mi Mix Fold is equipped with a 5,020mAh battery, and although it’s not a small capacity by any means, the huge 8.01-inch main display would probably drain the battery quite fast.

The device features Xiaomi’s 67W fast charging technology and although no official numbers have been shared during the presentation, the Mi Mix Fold should be able to charge from 0 to 100% in around 40 minutes with the appropriate fast charger.

Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold: Price

The official price for the “base” 12/256GB model in China is 9999 yuans (just above $1,500). The 12/512GB version is around $1,700, while the special edition that features 16/512GB memory configuration and a ceramic back will retail for almost $2,000 (12,999 Y).

Pre-orders for Mi MIX Standard Edition and Ceramic Special Edition will be open on March 30.
Mi MIX FOLD will be officially available for purchase from April 16 in Mainland China via official Xiaomi channels. There’s no information about availability in other parts of the world at this time.

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Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.