Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 Unboxing, First Impressions, and Camera Samples
We share our thoughts on the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 foldable with a super slim and lightweight design, Leica Summicron cameras, and 67W fast charging.
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| Xiaomi Mix Fold 3's rear camera can be used for selfies! |
It is packing a 3.36GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, LPPDDR5X RAM, UFS 4.0 storage, and a 4,800mAh battery with 67W fast charging and 50W wireless charging.
At the back are Leica cameras made up of a 50MP main camera, 13MP ultra-wide, 10MP 3.2x telephoto camera, and a 10MP 5x periscope telephoto with an LED flash. It also has two 20MP OV20B inner and outer selfie cameras.
Other features include a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, IR blaster, and stereo speakers.
In China, pricing begins at CNY 8,999 (around PHP 69.4K) and is now available for pre-order.
Let's dive in.
Unboxing/Accessories
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| Xiaomi Mix Fold 3's outer packaging |
It comes in a matte black box with the Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold 3 and Leica branding in front. On the sides are the key features, specs, and regulatory information.
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| Box inclusions |
Inside the box are the Mi Mix Fold 3, documentation, bumper case, SIM ejector tool, USB-A to Type-C cable, and the 67W wall charger.
There are no included earphones inside the box.
Build Quality/Design
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| With the included kickstand case |
From afar, you immediately notice the glass cover screen, the faux leather back, and the reflective camera module. The camera bump is the thickest part of the phone and it then curves elegantly to achieve its razor-thin form factor.
When you get closer and grab it, you then immediately notice how lightweight and slim the phone is. When folded, it feels and weighs like a normal flagship candy bar-style phone. But when you unfold it, you will be surprised at how thin the phone really is. It is most evident when seeing the amount of material around the USB-C port.
There is barely any metal on top and below the USB-C port. When folded, it looks so close to a normal candy bar phone.
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| Mix Fold 3's outer screen |
The outer cover screen is a 6.56-inch Samsung E6 AMOLED with a 2520 x 1080 resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, a 1,300nit peak brightness and a 21:9 aspect ratio. It supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision while being protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
Around the curved cover screen are slim-enough bezels. They are asymmetrical as the chin bezel is noticeably thicker than the rest of the bezels. It also has a punch hole on the upper part of the display that houses the first of its selfie cameras.
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| Mix Fold 3's internal screen |
The internal folding screen is an 8.03-inch Eco2 OLED Plus Samsung E6 screen with a 2160 x 1916 resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and a 2,600 nits peak brightness. It supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision while being protected by UTG glass protection.
The inner folding display on the other hand has thick and raised bezels to prevent the screen from catching itself when folded. In the upper left corner is the punch hole that holds the second selfie camera.
Unlike other folding screens, it barely gives when pressing the screen itself. This means that even if we intentionally press on the inner screen, our finger and the screen do not dip or form a depression.
The Mi Mix Fold 3 uses a new hinge that is similar to the water drop hinge that is becoming popular with recent foldable. This same hinge design however gives the screen a narrow but deep crease. Do not get us wrong, the creases of older generations are deeper but it is palpable when looked for or when swiping from one end of the screen to the other.
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| Top and bottom view |
On top of the phone are the antenna lines, the first set of speaker grills, IR blaster, SIM tray, and a microphone port. While at the bottom are more antenna lines, a second set of speaker grills, a USB-C port, and a microphone port.
The SIM tray accommodates up to two nano SIM cards. It has an orange rubber gasket that could indicate a form of water resistance. There was no mention of an IP rating.
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| Xiaomi Mix Fold 3's hinge |
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| Xiaomi Mix Fold 3's right side |
On the left side is the hinge while on the right side are antenna lines, a power button/side-mounted fingerprint scanner and the metal volume rocker.
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| Rear Leica cameras |
At the back of the phone is the 50MP f/1.77 main camera with Sony IMX800 sensor and OIS, the 13MP f/2.2 OV13B10 120-degree ultra-wide camera, 10MP f/2.0 S5K3K1 3.2x telephoto camera, and a 10MP S5K3K1 f/2.92 5x periscope camera with 30cm super macro shooting with an LED flash, Leica Optics and 8K video recording.
While on both the cover and inner screens are 20MP OV20B selfie cameras.
Aside from that, the camera app features the Leica software optimization, master lenses, Leica filters and the following modes: Photo, Video, Pro, Documents, Portrait, Night, 50MP, Panorama, Short Film, Slow Motion, Time-lapse, AI watermark, Long Exposure, Superman, and Director Mode.
First Camera Samples
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| Rear camera daylight 1x |
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| Rear camera daylight 3.2x |
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| Rear camera daylight 5x |
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| Rear camera daylight ultra-wide |
The daylight images stand out because of the stunning Leica-like colors, fine detail and contrast.
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| Rear camera lowlight ultra-wide |
The initial images from the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3's Leica cameras are impressive. The images are sharp, detailed, vibrant, and contrasty. There was no noticeable difference from the rear main camera's 1x to 2x crop. We were also surprised at how the colors are near what we see from Leica cameras. However, we did notice grain creep up more in low light with the ultra-wide camera.
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| Selfie camera |
The Selfies from the Mix Fold 3 are not as sharp as we expect but the colors and contrast is up there.
We hope the results will be consistent once we do more testing.
Other key features of the phone include a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, IR blaster, USB-C, Dual 1115 speakers with Dolby Atmos, 5G, Dual 4G VoLTE, WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, GPS L1 + L5, NavIC, and NFC.
As of the moment
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| Xiaomi's MIUI Fold 14 |
We are excited to see Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 performs with our longer-term testing. However, because Xiaomi is still studying whether or not to bring this super slim beast of a foldable to the global market, we may have to wait a while.
We love the design, build, weight and camera performance out of the box. The colors and clarity stand out while the build materials, weight and super slim body make it one of the best foldable in terms of practicality.
Let's not forget the other premium features like the 4,800mAh battery with 67W fast wired charging, 50W wireless charging, stereo speakers, and the fast 120Hz refresh rates on both cover and inner folding screens.
So far, our initial impression of the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 is truly positive.
Stay tuned.
What do you guys think?
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