Long-awaited, the Mix Flip, Xiaomi’s folding smartphone in clamshell format, is finally arriving in France. Competition that matches what Samsung offers… including on price.
The Mix Flip. This is what the new folding smartphone in clamshell format from Xiaomi is called. Suffice to say that it was rather expected on the French market since for the moment, only Samsung with its Galaxy Z Flip and Motorola with its Razr are competing in this area. The arrival of Xiaomi, with its strike force and its production volume, could have played a major role in bringing down the prices of these still very expensive models. Unfortunately, this is not the case. With its Mix Flip sold from 1299 euros, Xiaomi rises to the level of Samsung’s prices (count 1319 euros for a Z Flip6 in 12-512 GB version). And, if we take the exception of Chinese brands that are still quite confidential in France, like Nubia or Hero, it is once again Motorola which is beating everyone by offering its Razr 50 Ultra at 1099 euros. Those who counted on Xiaomi to democratize this technology are at their expense.
Xiaomi Mix Flip: a flip smartphone strongly inspired by Samsung
If Xiaomi does not succeed in lowering the price of its first folding clamshell sold in our territory, it must not make any mistakes in the face of the Korean’s proposal, even if it means taking inspiration from it. So, what does the Chinese giant offer for 1299 euros? First of all, a design quite close to the Z Flod6 in the end. The device has an aluminum frame and a fairly elegant shiny glass back. No doubt, Xiaomi is banking, like Samsung, on the jewel aspect of its smartphone even if it pushes the envelope less far by contenting itself with offering it in only two colors, black and purple.
Where Samsung still gains a point is on the size since, once closed, the Mix Flip has a thickness of 16 mm compared to 14.9 mm at Samsung (and 15.32 on Motorola’s Razr).
The external screen, on the other hand, takes precedence over the Z Flip6 since it offers a diagonal of 4.01 inches (compared to 3.4 inches at Samsung), including the two photo modules. Currently, 200 apps can come to life on this screen.
As for the internal screen, it benefits from a slightly higher definition than that of the Z Flip6 (2912 x 1224 pixels) but above all from a higher brightness set at 3000 nits peak (compared to 2000 nits at Samsung). The external screen also benefits. And the fold? During the demonstration given to us in Berlin for the launch, it seemed quite mastered… at least as well as at Samsung. Phew.
There remains the photo. The Mix Flip is based on a 50 Mpx wide-angle module (f/1.7) and a 50 Mpx telephoto lens (f/2.0), both developed in collaboration with the partner of many Xiaomi mobiles, Leica. Good point for Xiaomi therefore which, like Moto prefers the telephoto lens, more useful in everyday life, than the 12 Mpx ultra wide angle that we find on the Z Flip6.
Under the hood, unsurprisingly, we find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC supported by 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage space. As for the battery, Xiaomi easily surpasses the Korean by equipping its mobile with a 4780 mAh battery (compared to 4000 mAh for Samsung) and real 67 W fast charging (the compatible charger is provided).
The Mix Flip therefore has some arguments to make against the Z Flip6 and the Razr 50 Ultra. We would have preferred Xiaomi to take a big hit on the price to finally convince us. Maybe it will be for next time. In the meantime, it is always possible to lower the price. Xiaomi offers a trade-in bonus of 200 euros for an old smartphone, regardless of the value of the latter. That’s already it.