Xiaomi's had quite an epic 24 hours. Yesterday the Chinese tech giant launched a bunch of impressive new products, including multiple smartphones, a smartband, a smart projector, and a pair of wireless chargers. Earlier today it announced it was working on an electric vehicle, and just now in another launch event, the company has officially introduced its first-ever foldable phone, the Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold.

Xiaomi had teased a foldable phone over two years ago, but that amounted to just that — a tease of a concept. This time, the Mi MIX Fold is a real consumer product ready for release in China, and it's the biggest flex of hardware prowess for the company yet.

The Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold

Specification

Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold

Build

  • Colors: Black, Ceramic

Dimensions & Weight

  • Folded: 173.2mm x 69.8mm x 17.2mm
  • Unfolded: 173.2mm x 133.4mm x 7.62mm

Display

  • Main
    • 8" flexible OLED
    • WQHD+ resolution (2480 x 1860), 4:3 aspect ratio
    • 60Hz refresh rate, 120Hz touch sampling rate
    • 600 nits peak brightness
    • Dolby Vision, HDR10+
  • Secondary
    • 6.5" AMOLED screen
    • 2520 x 840 resolution
    • 90Hz refresh rate, 180Hz touch sampling rate
    • 900 nits peak brightness
    • HDR 10+

SoC

  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
    • CPU
      • 1x ARM Cortex-X1 @ 2.84GHz
      • 3x ARM Cortex-A78 @ 2.4GHz
      • 4x ARM Cortex-A55 @ 1.8GHz
    • GPU: Adreno 660

RAM & Storage

  • 12GB LPDDR5 RAM + 256GB UFS 3.1 storage
  • 12GB LPDDR5 RAM + 512GB UFS 3.1 storage
  • 16GB LPDDR5 RAM + 512GB UFS 3.1 storage

Battery & Charging

  • 5,020mAh battery
  • 67W wired turbo charging

Security

  • Side-mounted fingerprint reader

Rear Cameras

  • Primary:
    • 108MP HM2 sensor, 1/1.52"
  • Ultra-wide:
    • 13MP, f/2.4, 123° FOV
  • "Liquid" lens:
    • 8MP self-developed lens with 80mm focal length (3x optical zoom) and 3cm minimum focusing distance (macro mode), powered by self-developed Surge C1 image processing chip

Front Camera

20MP, fixed-focus

Port

  • USB Type-C
  • No 3.5mm headphone jack

Audio & Vibration

  • Quad speakers
  • Sound by Harmon Kardon
  • Hi-Res Audio Certification
  • X-axis linear vibration motor

Connectivity

  • Qualcomm Snapdragon X60 4G LTE and 5G integrated modem
    • 5G: n1/n3/n5/n7/n8/n20/n28/n38/n40/n41/n77/n78/n79
    • 4G: LTE FDD: B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/20/28/32/66
    • 4G: LTE TDD: B38/40/41/42
    • 3G: WCDMA: B1/2/4/5/8
    • 2G: GSM: 850 900 1800 1900 MHz
  • Dual SIM, Dual 5G standby
  • Bluetooth 5.2
  • Wi-Fi 6E
  • NFC and IR blaster

Software

MIUI 12 based on Android 11

 

In terms of the overall design, it is very similar to the Samsung Galaxy Fold, in that it is an "innie fold," in that the folding screen folds inwards toward the user. The large inside screen measures 8-inches, with a resolution of 2480 x 1860 and 4:3 aspect ratio. It is also uninterrupted without a selfie camera. Xiaomi made no mention of the refresh rate, however, which implies it should be just a 60Hz panel. The outside display is a 6.5-inch, 2520 x 840 90Hz OLED panel with a 27:9 aspect ratio.

As for the hinge, Xiaomi president Lei Jun claimed the Mi MIX Fold's hinge can sustain over a million folds without issues.

The Mi MIX Fold also has four stereo speakers, tuned by Harman/Kardon, and is powered by the Snapdragon 888. It also has the largest battery seen in a foldable phone yet, at 5020 mAh, and it can be charged via 67W fast charging speeds that can charge the phone from 0 to 100 in 37 minutes according to Xiaomi.

The Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold supports 67W fast charging

As for optics, the Mi MIX Fold features a triple camera array including a 108MP main camera, 13MP ultra-wide camera, and a new, self-developed 8MP "liquid lens" that doubles as a 3x optical zoom lens and a macro lens.

Xiaomi Mi mIX Fold camera array

The liquid lens, according to Xiaomi, uses the principle of human eye bionics to form a lens-like structure with a transparent fluid wrapped in film. This allows the lens to achieve two different abilities -- 80mm focal length and a minimum focus distance of 3cm — that would usually require two lenses.

Image processing is powered by Xiaomi's new Surge C1 image sensing processor, also built in-house by the company. Xiaomi says the chip helps process faster autofocus, better white balance, dynamic range, and also improve algorithms to boost low-light capabilities.

 

The Mix MIX Fold seems to address one of the common complaints about other foldable phones — that despite the larger screen they offer mostly just blown-up versions of apps and UI. To this end, the Mi MIX Fold has a dedicated "desktop mode" that turns the interface into something resembling a traditional computer UI instead of an Android UI.

Xiaomi's desktop mode for the Mi Mix Fold.

The Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold is only launching in the China market for now and starts at 9,999 yuan (around $1,521) for the 12GB RAM/256GB storage variant; 10,999 yuan ($1,670) for the 12GB RAM/512GB model, and 12,999 yuan ($1,980) for the 16GB/512GB model. These prices are significantly cheaper than the Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Huawei Mate X2. Consumers in China can pre-order today, and the first batch ships on April 16.

Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold Forums

Xiaomi has had a successful 2020 — Lei Jun announced the company generated 245.9 billion yuan (around $37 billion) in total revenue last year, a 19.4% Y0Y growth over 2018. The Mi MIX Fold is the company's further foray into the premium flagship space.