Xiaomi’s Latest Foldable Phone Features Zoom Camera and Slim Design

It appears that the summer season is becoming synonymous with the release of foldable phones. Following the recent launches of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the impressively slim Honor Magic V2, along with smaller models from Samsung and Motorola, Xiaomi has now joined the fray with its annual refresh. The new Mix Fold 3, appropriately named, brings several expected improvements in terms of folded thickness (5.26mm), unfolded thickness (10.86mm), and weight (255 grams). While Honor still holds the crown for thinness and lightness, Xiaomi’s latest offering has introduced a 5x periscopic zoom camera and, finally, a selfie camera, addressing some of the main drawbacks of its previous generation model.

Another notable addition is 50W wireless charging alongside the original 67W wired option. Depending on the charging method you use, the company says it will take 55 minutes or 40 minutes to fully charge the slightly denser 4,800mAh battery. (If you’re comparison shopping, Honor lost wireless charging from the Magic V2 to meet its aggressive thickness goals.) The Mix Fold 3’s wireless charging should pair well with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 “Leading Version” processor at its primary core. capable of up to 3.36 GHz clock speed – handy for video editing on a larger screen.

Thanks to the enhanced camera setup, the Mix Fold 3 has a total of four Leica-enhanced cameras on the back: a 50-megapixel f/1.77 main camera (Sony IMX800, 23mm equivalent) with optical stabilization and a 12-megapixel f./2.2 ultra-wide-angle camera (15mm equivalent ), a 10 megapixel telephoto camera (75 mm equivalent) and a handy new 10 megapixel f/2.92 periscope camera (115 mm equivalent).

As before, you can always swap out the external display to take advantage of any of these rear cameras for better selfies, but for general video conferencing, you now have the option to switch between the 20MP front-facing camera on both 6.56-inch external cameras. display (2,520 x 1,080, 120Hz) and an 8.025-inch flexible display (2,160 x 1,916, 120Hz).

The screen sizes here are virtually identical to the last-gen models, except that both have now been updated with Samsung’s E6 OLED display technology for improved efficiency and appearance; you get up to 2,600 nits of peak brightness on the external panel.

Meanwhile, thanks to Xiaomi’s improved hinge, the company can finally reveal the 500,000-fold durability figure (certified by TÜV Rheinland). As a bonus, the Mix Fold 3 finally supports hover mode from 45 degrees to 135 degrees, which means you can raise the rear cameras and try more artistic angles or timelapse photos – just make sure you don’t accidentally scratch the external display.

Xiaomi is accepting pre-orders for the Mix Fold 3, with prices ranging from 8,999 yuan or about $1,240 (12GB LPDDR5X and 256GB UFS 4.0 storage) to 10,999 yuan or about $1,515 (16GB RAM and 1TB storage space). You can choose between a 5-layer composite material body (black only) or a more classic glass surface (black or gold). Like last year, all versions come with the familiar-looking stand back cover in the box, but now with a bonus protective frame for the top of the fold. However, ReturnByte understands that Xiaomi will once again limit its latest device to the Chinese market, which will probably be a relief to the likes of Samsung and possibly Honor in the rest of the world.