Smartphone manufacture is a difficult appendage , no doubt complicated by the intricate computer hardware within folding technical school .
However , this is n’t a first - gen foldable from a caller with no anterior experience in foldables ; in fact , Xiaomi has been producing foldables since the release of the Mi Mix Fold in early 2021 .
That means that , while it ’s technically the first coevals of clamshell foldable , it ’s actually Xiaomi ’s fourth - gen folding technical school – and I expect more from a multi - year refining cognitive operation .
Case and degree ; the flexure , the most divisive constituent of foldables , is very much present and report for here . That may not be a big pot on the control surface . All foldables have creases , right ? Well yes , but it ’s more nuanced than that .
While companies like Samsung , Google and , plain , Xiaomi , are struggle to cut the fold on the intimate screen to a point where it ’s scarcely noticeable , other company – namely Honor , OnePlus / Oppo and Motorola – have made great strides in that section .
They ’re still there , as there ’s no room to break the law of physics unfortunately , but the crease is shallow with a less noticeable inclination as you run your finger across it .
The Xiaomi Mix Flip ’s screen has averynoticeable crease in it , considering Xiaomi ’s prior experience in the foldable market . And , unlike with leger - style foldables like theHonor Magic V3where your finger rarely comes into inter-group communication with the centrally - placed crease , you constantly find it on clamshell foldables like this , further compounding the issue .
It ’s not just the crinkle , either . I could potentially get used to that over an extended period of use .
Instead , it ’s a lot of little thing that Xiaomi really should ’ve apprehend with the Mix Flip . For one , it offers no form of water resistance . That was the average a few years ago , but in 2024 , multiple foldables put up full IPX8 water resistance for append peace treaty of intellect – especially with magnificently fragile tech .
I ’m not overly fascinate by the hinge either , with an oddly discrepant spirit as you lift the hat and expand that interior concealment . It set off off with a fair bit of resistance , before drop to such a low level of resistance that the silver screen can flop and move with a handclasp , only again becoming set as it nears its fully open state .
It just feel a bite chinchy for what ’s marketed as an expensive bit of technical school , and is n’t an issue on cheaper foldables like the£799 Razr 50 .
The telephone set also suffers from massive caloric throttling when you run necessitate task like gaming – something you should be free to do considering the inclusion of the top - end Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 .
Granted , the thin dimensions of foldables think that no foldable delivers the perfect gambling experience , but the choking is so obtrusive here that it really refused to run a few of our graphic benchmark – again , not something we ’ve seen from the competition .
Even the 4 - inch cover screen , which I was ab initio captivate with , has leave somewhat of a biting taste in the mouth after really using it . Unlike theRazr 50 Ultra’s4 - column inch cover CRT screen , which natively adapts apps to endure in the boxy , square aspect proportion , the Mix Flip renders full 16:9 apps on the cover screen .
That sound like a expectant idea on the surface , and it can be , but I ’ve found that it also make water ikon and other app element smaller and unvoiced to tap as the app is essentially pull a fast one on into think it ’s running on a standard tumid 16:9 smartphone screen .
At least with the Razr ’s alternative , it ’s still wanton to register and utilize most apps – even if that camera living accommodations can get in the way from time to fourth dimension .
It ’s at this stop , after quite a bit of banging , that I should say that I do n’t completely detest the Mix Flip .
On the contrary , I think it offers a few key features that I ’d love to see on other foldables , from the built - in talker in the cover screen to take phone call without blossom out the sound to the inclusion of 67W flying charging . They ’re both features long - awaited on the clamshell folding front .
It ’s just that these positives do n’t outweigh the negatives of Xiaomi ’s foldaway design – not by a retentive guess , and especially not at the £ 1,099 request terms .
Xiaomi once had a reputation for undercut the competition with agiotage tech at low-priced prices , and I ca n’t serve but question whether that approach would ’ve made the Xiaomi Mix Flip , even with its flaws , more adequate .
As it stomach , it ’s not a telephone that I ’d recommend to folding fan – but hey , hopefully things will be much better with the Mix Flip 2 , whenever that materialises .
