Two things stand out about the Xiaomi Mix Flip — the brand’s first compact folding flip phone — and both make it really interesting. The first is a cover screen that I actually feel comfortable using, and the second is the omission of a feature most of us have come to consider standard on any phone.
It turns out that it may not be a bad omission at all. Here’s what’s different about the Xiaomi Mix Flip, and why I love it.
Meet the Xiaomi Mix Flip
Before I go into my experience with the Xiaomi Mix Flip, here are the headline specs. On the outside is a 4.01-inch, 120Hz, 1392 x 1208 pixel screen, which Xiaomi calls an “All Around Liquid” display. The cameras sit inside the screen rather than having a cutout for them. Open the phone, and you get a 6.86-inch, 1-120Hz, 2912 x 1224 pixel screen.
Performance comes from a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage space, plus a 4780mAh battery with 67W fast charging using Xiaomi’s HyperCharge wired system. It does not have wireless charging. The phone has an aluminum frame, stereo speakers, Android 14 with Xiaomi’s HyperOS interface, and Wi-Fi 7.
The camera is responsible for the missing feature I mentioned. It has a 50-megapixel Light Fusion 800 camera with an f/1.7 aperture and optical image stabilization (OIS) and a second 50MP telephoto camera with a 2x and 4x quick access toggle in the app.
See what’s missing? The Xiaomi Mix Flip is one of the first phones in a while not to have a wide-angle camera, and it’s really strange not to see a 0.6x or 0.5x option in the camera app.
An excellent cover screen
Swapping what could have been a lackluster wide-angle camera for a trendier zoom camera is an interesting decision, and I’ll come back to my early tests with it in a moment. But before that, I want to talk about the brilliant outer screen on the Mix Flip. I don’t usually care much for cover screens with high levels of functionality, but Xiaomi has got the mix (sorry) of simplicity, hardware, and features just right here.
It makes excellent use of the space. Most of the screen is taken up with an app grid, but the section above the cameras has a widget that can be swiped through to show the weather, a clock, and previously used apps. You swipe down on the screen to show notifications as normal. The high resolution and brightness make it so usable, and because it’s so smooth and responsive, it’s pleasant to do so. There’s more than enough functionality that operates with the minimum of fuss and input. There are no silly apps to install to make it all work.
You can select from a list of various apps to use on the outer screen, and they are formatted very well, including WhatsApp and Instagram. I don’t really want to use either for very long on the relatively small screen, but I could do so if I wanted. The software is so fast and responsive that I don’t need to open the phone to do the basics, and that’s how I’ve been living with the Mix Flip. It’s much easier to set up and more convenient to use than the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6’s cover screen, and a higher-quality panel than on the Motorola Razr Plus 2024. It’s excellent, and a real reason to pick the Mix Flip over its competitors.
Wide-angle or telephoto?
Back to the camera. For the telephoto camera to be a worthy alternative to a wide-angle, it needs to take good-quality photos, so I went out and took a few sample shots. What’s fascinating is 2x zoom photos are often better balanced and more visually appealing than the main camera’s photos. The problem is the main camera has some issues around exposure and contrast, making the photos appear dull, shadowy, and lacking in detail.
The 2x shots appear much more how I’d expect the main camera to perform in some situations so far, with punchy colors, balanced exposure levels, and a decent level of detail. It doesn’t always work out this way though, revealing general inconsistency between the cameras and modes. The differences between them really show up when you view a sequence of images taken at 1x, 2x, and 4x. The 4x shots are clearly digitally enhanced, and lack sharpness when you crop the image down.
Is the telephoto better than a wide-angle? It’s an alternative, and I think it’s more usable than an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera, but there’s growing evidence that phones can take excellent 2x shots without a telephoto camera, so its presence may be somewhat superfluous. In the few photos I’ve taken, the Mix Flip’s camera overall needs refining, but I am pleased to see an alternative to a poor-quality wide-angle onboard.
Can it beat the competition?
Xiaomi faces serious competition from the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and the Motorola Razr 2024, and ditching the wide-angle camera is a clever way to differentiate it from them. In our separate tests, the Galaxy Z Flip 6’s wide-angle camera was no better than the Galaxy Z Flip 5’s or the Razr 2024’s wide-angle. They are fine, but nothing more. It’s refreshing to see Xiaomi shift away from what we may have considered standard to something different. What about the rest of the phone?
Folded it’s quite thick at 16mm, a millimeter more than the Galaxy Z Flip 6, and about the same when unfolded. It makes it feel chunky and substantial in your hand, and it’s a little concerning there’s no IP rating for water or dust protection. I also don’t like the way the inner hinge protection is raised above the screen, as it looks cheap and feels unpleasant. The phone weighs 190 grams, so generally the same as the competition, and the hinge is silent and well-dampened. It can’t match the Galaxy Z Flip 6’s hardware, but it competes well against the Razr 2024.
Xiaomi has not announced the price or the release details at the time of writing, and it will need to be cheaper than the Galaxy Z Flip 6 — which is a hardware superstar — to be competitive. Provided it is, then the Mix Flip will be one to consider — not only because it goes in a different direction with the camera but because I’m genuinely impressed by the outer screen and the software, and am drawn to using it in a way I’m not with other compact folding phones. As far as folding flip phones go, this is a special one.