Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 review

Design, build quality, handling

When the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 came out, it was such a massive step up over the previous generation in terms of design and overall concept that it made the previous model look several years old immediately. The Mix Fold 2 was also among the thinnest foldables of its kind last year and a truly remarkable device to hold and marvel at. Little has changed now with the Mix Fold 3.

Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 (left) next to Mix fold 3

The Mix Fold 3 maintains the same general proportions as last year's model and brings a 6.56-inch display on the cover, offering a 'regular-sized' smartphone feel in the folded state, so to speak. That's in contrast to the most popular phone-turns-tablet device out there, the Galaxy Z Fold5, the use of which in its folded state isn't exactly a pleasant experience.

There are, after all, some styling changes. For example, while the Mix Fold 2 only came with a frosted glass back in either of its two colorways, the third generation spices things up a couple of notches. Three colorways are available and our review unit is what we'd call the most basic, black variant.

It features a glass back panel that's matte and sort of textured like leather. It isn't soft and supple and grippy like the best implementations of 'vegan' leather that we've handled, but those are essentially plastic, and this one is glass - we pocket-knife-scratch-tested it, just to make sure.

The other black option has a composite back that has the weave of carbon fiber, but is made of 5 layers of ceramic and aramid fibers. Xiaomi says it's 36 times stronger than glass and 28% lighter. Thus equipped, the Mix Fold 3 weighs 255g, while the glass variants are a full 4g heavier. Speaking of, the other glass option is Gold.

The camera island has gotten larger, but it does have one extra module to accommodate, compared to the Mix Fold 2. Xiaomi has also adopted a version of the fine slope that the 13 Ultra has leading up to the camera bump. The camera island's mirror-like plate is ceramic. We'd say the whole look is very stylishly understated, even on gold variant where it does add a bit of contrast.

The styling change of more practical significance than the back panel, perhaps, is the new shape of the aluminum side rails. Now flat and matte, they're noticeably easier to grasp and make unfolding the Mix Fold 3 a more straightforward endeavor.

Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 on top of Mix fold 2

And while unfolding the handset, you'll easily notice it's nowhere as eager to snap between phone and tablet states as the Mix Fold 2 was. Indeed, Xiaomi has redesigned the hinge for this generation in such a way that it can remain stable at angles between 45 and 135 degrees.

The Mix Fold 2 didn't give us grounds for complaint when it came to its crease, and the one on the Mix Fold 3 is similarly subtle - perhaps even marginally smoother still? We're not saying it's entirely flat, of course, and if you go looking or feeling for it, you'll notice it. But it's better than the one on the GAlaxy Z Fold5, for certain.

Xiaomi's press materials mention a TÜV certification for 500,000 hinge folds and that's probably the highest number we've seen of this kind, though we're not entirely sure that necessarily covers the display panel itself. Xiaomi's internal testing has shown that 200,000 folds later, the crease depth increases by just 10µm, so perhaps they do rate the whole assembly at 500,000.

Unfolded, the now-tablet feels great in the hand. The ultra-slim profile makes a distinctly premium impression while the device is also light enough to be comfortable to hold for extended periods of time.

The hardware bits are laid out in a familiar way on the Mix Fold 3, though we did spot a minor, inconsequential rearrangement - one of the secondary mics has been relocated. It's that pin hole in the frame that's now farther from the infra-red blaster. The SIM slot (dual nano) is on the other half of the phone, together with the top speaker, that also doubles as an earpiece.

Despite the orange gasket you can see there on the SIM tray, the Mix Fold 3 does not have an official rating for water resistance. Before the Pixel Fold and the Huawei Mate X3 it was only Samsung foldables that had an IPX8 rating and its lack in other devices was easier to look past. But now that more and more bendy smartphones offer that level of protection, the fact that it's missing on the Mix is more of a punishable offence.

Top of the handset • SIM tray

Back to the tour of the periphery, we're seeing the USB-C port on the bottom, joined by what is the primary mic (there's a third one peeking out from the side of one of the rear cameras). The bottom speaker is here as well, naturally.

The power and volume buttons are on the right of the Mix Fold 3, and both are in the 'rear' half when the device is folded - unlike, for example, Honor that likes to keep them on opposite halves for one reason or another. Both click nicely.

The Mix Fold 3's power button also houses a capacitive fingerprint reader. It's easily accessible with either the right thumb or the left index finger and has worked trouble-free for us.

Bottom of the handset • Buttons on the side

A selfie camera punctures the cover screen in the middle of its top edge. The bigger news is that there is now a selfie camera on the inside as well - the Mix Fold 2 didn't have the internal one.

And since we're looking from up close, you can also see the somewhat wide lip of the bezel covering the flexible panel. The one on the Galaxy Z Fold5 is thinner, but sticks up a tiny bit higher. Neither is an issue, though.

Cover selfie camera and earpiece • Inner selfie camera

Overall, we'd say that the design and in-hand feel of the Mix Fold 3 are about as premium as you can get from a foldable in 2023. Even the latest Galaxy Z Fold5 with its (long-overdue) gapless folding doesn't quite have the same upmarket aura as the Mix. Now, if only the Xiaomi had water resistance.