Xiaomi's Folding Mix Flip Arrives to Challenge Samsung

Xiaomi's Mix Flip clamshell foldable launched in China back in July, but the phone is now going on sale in the UK and wider Europe. After spending a few days with it, I can already tell it's a great foldable phone — and a strong competitor to Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 6. But unfortunately, it won't be going on sale in the US. 

Having used it for several days now, I find there's plenty to like about the Mix Flip. Its outer cover screen measures an impressive 4.01 inches and stretches right the way across the surface, with the camera units creating two holes in the screen. You can use the outer screen for various things, from checking your notifications to using the main camera for taking selfies. 

Open the phone up and you'll see a 6.86-inch display, making the Mix Flip's overall dimensions almost exactly in line with those of the 2024 Motorola Razr. The inner display is bright and vibrant, and I wasn't especially distracted by the crease, even though it's visible under overhead lights.

The phone can remain open at any angle.

The phone runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, rather than the MediaTek Dimensity processor found in Xiaomi's 14T Pro. The Snapdragon silicon earned strong scores on benchmark tests — in line with other phones using the 8 Gen 3 — and I generally found the phone to be quick in everyday use. Gaming, too, was no problem here. 

The rear cameras are a step down from those found on Xiaomi's regular candybar phones, especially the photography-focused Xiaomi 14 Ultra. But its dual camera setup takes decent shots in outdoor conditions. Both the main and telephoto cameras offer 50 megapixel resolutions, meaning their images are packed with detail.

This image from the main camera is vibrant and packed with detail.

Why would I bother using the inside camera when I can take selfies using the much better rear camera? If only I could smile more.

There's a 32-megapixel selfie camera tucked into a punch-hole within the inner display. But if you want better-looking selfies, fold the phone over and use the main camera with the outer display for the best possible image quality. 

The phone's 4,780mAh battery is sufficient for a full day of use, as long as you're reasonably careful, and the phone supports 67-watt fast charging, which should help you get some juice back in the tank pretty quickly. 

The phone runs Android 14.

I've been able to spend only a limited amount of time with the phone, but I like what I see so far. The large outer display is bigger than that on Samsung's Z Flip 6, and with the same processor on board, performance should be mostly comparable. The main drawback of Xiaomi's phone is that it lacks any kind of IP rating for water resistance, something Samsung's Flip and the Motorola Razr both have. 

But the big question will come down to how much Xiaomi is charging for its compact foldable. The company hasn't provided pricing details ahead of launch, but if it hopes to remain competitive against the dominant names in foldables, then it needs to price accordingly. I'll update this article as I find out more.