Flip Phone With a Screen This Big? You Might Just Need It

Xiaomi Doubles Down on Foldables: Mix Fold 4 and Mix Flip Aim for Chinese Market Domination

Xiaomi, the Chinese tech giant renowned for its affordable yet powerful devices, has unveiled two new foldable smartphones, the Mix Fold 4 and the Mix Flip, aiming to capture the burgeoning foldable market in China. Both phones offer compelling features and design improvements, showcasing Xiaomi’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of foldable technology.

The Mix Fold 4: A Bold Evolution for Book-Style Foldables

At first glance, the Mix Fold 4 might appear as a natural progression from its predecessor, the Mix Fold 3. However, the device boasts several notable improvements that elevate its foldable experience.

IPX8 Water Resistance: A Game-Changer for Foldable Durability

One of the most significant additions is the IPX8 water resistance rating, a first for Xiaomi foldables. This means the Mix Fold 4 can withstand being fully submerged in water, a crucial feature for mitigating everyday spills or accidental submersion. While the lack of dust resistance remains a concern, the water resistance rating is a substantial step towards making foldable phones more rugged and dependable.

Refined Design and Enhanced Performance

The Mix Fold 4 also boasts a redesigned hinge, making it 34 percent narrower and 16 percent lighter compared to the Mix Fold 3. This contributes to a more compact and comfortable form factor, resulting in a 29-gram weight reduction, bringing the overall weight to 226 grams.

The device features a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor for peak performance, coupled with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage to handle demanding tasks with ease. The battery capacity has been slightly increased to 5,100mAh, supporting both 67W fast wired charging and 50W wireless charging.

Display Improvements for a More Immersive Experience

The Mix Fold 4 features a 7.98-inch internal display with a resolution of 2488 x 2224 pixels and a 120Hz refresh rate, providing an immersive viewing experience for multimedia consumption and productivity. The external display remains at 6.56 inches with a 1080P resolution and 120Hz refresh rate, ensuring smooth navigation while the phone is folded.

Leica-Branded Camera System with Enhanced Zoom Capabilities

The Mix Fold 4 inherits the impressive camera system of its predecessor, featuring four Leica-branded lenses on the rear. It retains the 50-megapixel main camera and the 12-megapixel ultrawide lens while introducing a new 50-megapixel telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom for enhanced portrait photography and a 10-megapixel periscope camera with 5x optical zoom for capturing distant subjects with clarity.

Xiaomi Mix Flip: A New Challenger in the Flip Phone Arena

The Xiaomi Mix Flip marks the company’s entry into the flip phone foldable market, offering an innovative design and a larger external display than its competitors.

Large External Display for Uninterrupted Productivity

The Mix Flip boasts a 4.01-inch external display, surpassing the 3.4-inch screen on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 and the four-inch screen on the Motorola Razr Plus 2024. This larger display allows users to make calls, check notifications, and even interact with apps without having to open the phone, enhancing the usability of the device.

Leica-Branded Cameras for Exceptional Image Quality

The Mix Flip features a dual Leica-branded camera system on the external display, comprising a 50-megapixel main camera with optical image stabilization for capturing vivid photos and a 50-megapixel telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom for versatility. Opening the phone reveals a 6.86-inch foldable display with a 120Hz refresh rate, offering an immersive viewing experience.

Powerful Performance and Enhanced Battery Life

The Mix Flip is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, paired with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, ensuring seamless multitasking and high-performance gaming. The device houses a 4,780mAh battery that supports 67W fast wired charging, allowing users to quickly top up the battery. While wireless charging has not been confirmed, the presence of 67W wired charging makes it a formidable contender in terms of power and stamina.

Pricing and Availability

The Xiaomi Mix Fold 4 starts at ¥8,999 (around $1,237) for the base model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, or ¥10,999 (around $1,512) for the 16GB RAM and 1TB storage variant. The Mix Flip is available in three color options – white, purple, and black – and starts at ¥5,999 (around $825) for the 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, with the 16GB RAM and 1TB storage version priced at ¥7,299 (around $1,004).

Global Availability Remains Uncertain

As with previous Xiaomi foldable models, the company has not yet announced whether the Mix Fold 4 and Mix Flip will be released outside of China. However, the increasing demand for foldable devices globally suggests that a wider rollout may be on the horizon.

Conclusion: Xiaomi’s Ambitious Play in the Foldable Market

With the introduction of the Mix Fold 4 and Mix Flip, Xiaomi has solidified its commitment to the foldable market, showcasing an eagerness to challenge the dominant players like Samsung and Google. The Mix Fold 4 addresses key concerns about foldable phone durability by introducing water resistance and delivers significant performance upgrades. The Mix Flip offers a compelling alternative to existing flip phones with its larger external display and a strong feature set.

While global availability remains uncertain, Xiaomi’s aggressive push into the Chinese market with these innovative foldable devices signals an intent to become a significant player in the rapidly evolving world of foldable technology. Only time will tell how these new models perform and whether they will entice users away from existing foldable phone heavyweights. However, Xiaomi’s latest offerings are a testament to the company’s determination to innovate and continuously enhance the consumer experience.

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