Xiaomi Mix Flip Review: Stiff Competition

Xiaomi has been in the business of foldable phones since 2021. However, this is the first time one of these models has officially launched on UK shores, and it’s also a first stab at the clamshell-style build from the Chinese tech giant.

This flip smartphone doesn’t come cheap, and with tough competition from the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, there are some areas where the Mix Flip falls short – though it is still a solid smartphone.

Design & Build

• Biggest outer display on a flip phone
• No water or dust resistance
• Two colours

The Xiaomi Mix Flip shares some similarities with the designs of the competition. It has a curved body and folds up to a neat square, measuring just 85mm once folded. The outer display is also the largest on a clamshell foldable at 4.01-inches, besting the Razr 50 Ultra by the tiniest of margins.

Weighing just 192g, it’s also impressively light for a flip phone, making it great for taking out and about without the need for a bag – it fits in shallow pockets! My tirade against women’s jeans will never cease.

Rather than having two horizontal camera bumps, Xiaomi has placed them vertically. They are on the chunky side, meaning they’re a big statement, but a tad annoying – more on that later.

Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry

Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry

The crease is more prominent than I experienced on the Razr 50 Ultra, but less jarring than cheaper models such as Nubia Flip 5G. You can also feel the slightly spongey texture on the display where the hinge is.

The hinge also isn’t quite as sturdy as what you’ll find on Motorola’s phone, feeling looser and thereby not as premium. But arguably the biggest downside of this phone is the lack of water or dust resistance, making it much more vulnerable to damage.

The USB-C port sits on the bottom, with the volume rocker and power button on the right-hand side, which includes a built-in fingerprint scanner. This worked well, as did face recognition, though the latter is only a basic version and so can’t be used to authenticate payments or log in to banking apps.

There are two colours for the Xiaomi Mix Flip: Purple and Black, with a matching shiny chassis.

Screen & Speakers

• 6.86-inch AMOLED internal display
• 4.01-inch external display
• Stereo speakers

Foldable phones have two displays to consider, so let’s start with the internal one. This is a 6.86-inch AMOLED display with an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate and a touch sampling rate of up to 120Hz.

There’s also support for HDR10+ and Dolby Atmos formats, and the screen has Rheinland Certification for low blue light, flicker-free and circadian friendly, making it easier on your eyes in the evening.

The display is impressively bold, with colours and textures that suitably pop. With a peak brightness of 3000 nits, I had no trouble using the Xiaomi Mix Flip under bright sunlight.

Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry

Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry

The 4.01-inch outer display is also bright and glossy, but the most annoying thing about it is the permanent widget bar on the right-hand side next to the camera module, meaning that the app icons are all crammed together on the left, as are the apps themselves. Even if you de-select the bar, there’s just an empty space that cannot be removed, which feels wasteful.

This makes the apps smaller than what they could be, and therefore harder to navigate. I can’t text easily in several apps and presses on Google Maps aren’t seamless.

In addition, you only get a limited selection of apps supported on the outer screen, though that means you lessen the chances of any weird aspect ratio issues. However, the likes of Audible, Twitch and Netflix are missing. It would’ve been nice to at least have the option to add these like you do on the Z Flip 6 or Razr 50 Ultra.

The Xiaomi Mix Flip features dual stereo speakers, which are reasonably loud and punchy and support Dolby Atmos. However, the audio isn’t as impressive or as colourful as you’ll find on phones with more speakers and extra software enhancements.

Specs & Performance

• Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
• 12GB RAM/512GB storage

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is the chipset of choice for the Xiaomi Mix Flip, the same processor that powers the OnePlus 12, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra and the Honor Magic 6. It’s Qualcomm’s latest and greatest at the time of writing, but soon to be replaced by the 8 Gen 4.

This is paired with 12GB RAM and 512GB of storage, with no other options available.

As with other smartphones with this chip, performance is swift and snappy. The phone quickly boots up and has no lag when switching between apps on the cover and inner displays.

However, it is lacking with regards to cooling abilities. The absence of this is prevalent when trying to run in-demand games like Genshin Impact, with the handset quickly heating up even just after five minutes. This game can still run on the graphics setting ‘High’ with no popping or lag, though.

In our benchmarking tests, the Mix Flip bested its biggest rivals. So, if you’re looking for a flip phone for gaming or heavy duty-tasks, this may be the best option at the time of writing:

Xiaomi Mix Flip Benchmarks

Cameras

• 50Mp main camera
• 50Mp telephoto camera
• 32Mp selfie camera

The Xiaomi Mix Flip features dual 50Mp Leica rear