Xiaomi Mix Flip review

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The Xiaomi Mix Flip is an outstanding first attempt in this niche segment, a phone that deserves praise for its design, screens, battery performance, cameras, software and rich retail bundle. It will make it to the international markets this August, even though in limited quantities, and its price will be around €1,300. And that is a lot!

The first obvious competitor is the recently launched Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6. It is a fully water resistant flip phone with similarly good specs, an ultrawide camera instead of a telephoto one, and has support for wireless charging. The Mix Flip has arguably a more versatile camera experience with overall better quality, longer battery life and, most importantly, better screens. However, the Z Flip6 has more mature software, much-needed ingress protection, and promises a long-lasting Android update cycle. Oh, and it is cheaper!

The Motorola Razr 50 Ultra is a close match to the Mix Flip in almost everything. The Mix Flip has more advanced screens and a more powerful processor and graphics, as well as better camera quality. But the Motorola is a global device with cleaner software and IPX8 water resistance, so we can imagine more people opting for that one.

The Oppo Find N3 Flip is an IPX4 splash-resistant smartphone available in Asia, with an ultrawide camera, better software support for the flip features, and it could be prettier depending on your taste test. But overall, the Mix Flip is superior in everything that is not splash protection and 13mm UW photography.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 • Motorola Razr 50 Ultra • Oppo Find N3 Flip

Our verdict

Xiaomi is definitely on the right track with the Mix Flip. It has many features we wanted to see in a Galaxy Z Flip - a higher-resolution Dolby Vision screens, Leica-powered photography with better zoomed photos and closeups, better battery life, faster charging. All these features could easily seal the deal.

The lack of ingress protection and the GPU overheating are the only things that we see as potential setbacks. And the limited availability, of course. While Xiaomi can improve its software to prevent overheating messages, it cannot add water resistance.

Still, we found the Mix Flip a compelling offer, one we would seriously consider if we were shopping for a Flip phone. Despite everything, it is one of the best Flip phones on the market - the one with the best screens and cameras, at least.

Pros

• Premium design with Xiaomi's Dragon Crystal glass.
• Outstanding foldable screen with high resolution, dynamic refresh rate, Dolby Vision.
• Excellent outer cover screen of similar qualities.
• Superb battery life for a Flip phone, fast to charge too.
• Good speakers.
• Top-notch performance.
• Great photo and video quality out of the cameras.
• HyperOS is a great software package, highly customizable.

Cons

• No ingress protection.
• Limited market availability.
• No ultrawide camera.
• Heavy performance throttling under load.