Say goodbye to being a "beautiful useless object".

Small foldable smartphones are significantly less popular compared to traditional straight-screen phones and large foldable phones. Currently, only a handful of small foldable flagship phones are available on the market.

So, LeiTech has always been curious: why do smartphone manufacturers, despite their technological maturity, struggle so much in the small foldable phone market?

In summary, there are three main issues with small foldable phones on the market: a useless external screen, poor battery life due to small battery capacity, and underwhelming performance. In other words, for consumers, a small foldable phone feels like a mid-range device purchased at a flagship price, offering extremely low value for money.

However, the release of Xiaomi MIX Flip has completely dispelled LeiTech's biases. As Xiaomi's first small foldable phone, can it rely on its unique insights into small foldables, just like the original MIX did, to make a big splash and drive the development of the entire small foldable phone market?

After a week of experience, LeiTech has found the answer.

It Really Looks Good

Xiaomi MIX Flip's first impression on LeiTech is "exquisite." Weighing just 192g and measuring only 7.88mm thick when unfolded, it provides an excellent grip.

For small foldable phones, achieving thinness often means compromising on specifications. Initially, LeiTech expected Xiaomi MIX Flip to have cut corners, but surprisingly, it not only did not sacrifice the rear camera module like its competitors but also equipped it with a high-quality main camera and a 50MP telephoto lens with a large sensor.

In addition to these two high-resolution sensors, Xiaomi MIX Flip boasts a massive 4780mAh battery, paired with Xiaomi's self-developed Jinshajiang battery technology and Pengpai G1 chip, making it the best in class for battery life among small foldable phones.

To accommodate these components while maintaining a slim profile, Xiaomi has pulled out all the stops. The company states that Xiaomi MIX Flip adopts the same hinge design as Xiaomi MIX Fold4, which is narrower and thinner, allowing for the inclusion of more components.

Almost forgot, Xiaomi MIX Flip is also the first small foldable phone to feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor. Competitors often opt for older processors to save costs, or even use mid-range chips as their core.

This goes against the development philosophy of small foldable phones, which should not sacrifice specifications for price and weight. Consumers want a small foldable phone that can be called a flagship in every aspect.

When closed, Xiaomi MIX Flip feels like a delicately crafted "small toy" with its square frame design and glossy finish. Xiaomi has also rounded the edges to improve grip, unlike some products that can be uncomfortable to hold.

Flipping to the back, the two "squares" of nearly equal size make Xiaomi MIX Flip resemble a compact powder case commonly used by female users. The top square is a high-quality screen with rounded corners, while the bottom is made of AG glass, providing a smooth touch without the greasiness caused by sweat.

Regarding the crease issue, which many are concerned about, Xiaomi MIX Flip barely noticeable during use. This is thanks to its new hinge design, which not only reduces weight but also minimizes pressure on the inner screen during folding, resulting in a shallower and smoother crease.

More importantly, with Xiaomi's advancements in hinge technology and screen craftsmanship, the "hunchback" issue common in small foldable phones is absent in Xiaomi MIX Flip.

These detailed improvements give Xiaomi MIX Flip an outstanding visual experience for users.

Why Should the External Screen Be a "Secondary Screen"?

Most small foldable phones on the market have external screens that only display notifications and time, offering little in terms of interaction.

Obviously, Xiaomi doesn't want the external screen of MIX Flip to be just a decoration, so it equipped it with a high-quality 4.01-inch screen featuring a 1392*1208 resolution, 460ppi, 120Hz refresh rate, and manufactured using CSOT's C8+ display technology.

Here are the specifications of the internal screen: 6.86 inches, 2912*1224 resolution, 460ppi, 1-120Hz LTPO, also crafted with CSOT's C8+ display technology.

Both screens offer comparable quality, ensuring a seamless transition from the internal to the external screen without any downgrade or disconnect.

Due to the differences in screen size and aspect ratio between small and large foldable phones, their operation logic also differs significantly.

Large foldable phones can function as regular phones when the external screen is not in use, but small foldable phones, limited by screen size and aspect ratio, must innovate in interactivity to mimic daily operation logic.

Although Xiaomi MIX Flip's external screen has an almost 1:1 square aspect ratio, the presence of the camera module divides the 4-inch screen into a 3.5-inch area with a 16:9 aspect ratio, maintaining visual harmony when transitioning from the external to the internal screen.

Upon unlocking Xiaomi MIX Flip's external screen, it doesn't use a conventional drawer-style layout. Users can customize which apps are "pinned" to the external screen.

Notably, Xiaomi MIX Flip currently deeply integrates with over 200 apps, allowing tasks like map navigation, ordering food, hailing taxis, and replying to messages directly on the external screen.

The newly upgraded Pengpai OS also offers a unique interactive experience, pushing summary information like flight details and estimated delivery times based on users' real-time needs.

According to Xiaomi, the external screen currently supports over 200 apps, with plans to collaborate with more developers for future integrations.

To meet users' personalized fashion needs, Xiaomi MIX Flip offers a range of exclusive lock screen UIs, always-on displays, wallpapers, and widgets.

To further enhance the external screen's practicality, Xiaomi MIX Flip introduces new capabilities. Users can now wake up XiaoAI Assistant directly on the external screen to handle simple tasks like composing social media posts, researching information, or controlling smart home devices.

More interestingly, Xiaomi MIX Flip introduces a groundbreaking feature—simultaneous translation between the internal and external screens.

Previously, translation apps required users to input questions, translate them, and then show the results. But with AI capabilities and Xiaomi MIX Flip's unique form factor, users can now display both languages on the screens simultaneously, eliminating the need for back-and-forth translation, truly achieving real-time simultaneous interpretation.

Regular functions like image generation, article summarization, Magic Erase Pro, and Smart Expand are also available with XiaoAI's large model, but won't be covered here in detail.

Flagship Photography in a Small Foldable Phone

Apart from offering a unique experience in daily use, foldable phones also differ from regular straight-screen phones in their operation modes, enabling new usage scenarios not possible with straight-screen phones.

One classic example is using the "hover" feature with the external screen to simplify rear camera selfies. The higher pixel count and larger aperture of the rear camera, combined with Xiaomi's portrait algorithms, significantly enhance the overall selfie quality.

As mentioned earlier, Xiaomi MIX Flip is equipped with two high-quality sensors. The main camera is the familiar Xiaomi 14 series' Light Hunter 800, whose resolution and image quality are unquestionable. The second lens, however, is somewhat unexpected—instead of an ultrawide angle, Xiaomi MIX Flip features a telephoto lens, which might seem confusing at first.

But once the camera is opened, all doubts disappear. Xiaomi MIX Flip's "telephoto" lens actually has a focal length of 46mm, often referred to as the "golden portrait focal length," giving the phone a more targeted shooting scenario and aligning with the target audience's needs.

Naturally, Xiaomi MIX Flip's sample photos focus on portraits.

With Xiaomi AISP and its hardware, Xiaomi MIX Flip can simultaneously suppress background exposure, blur the background, and enhance image details when shooting portraits. Compared to cameras that require post-processing, it offers an instant and ready-to-use experience.

The highly acclaimed Master Lens Pack from Xiaomi 14 Ultra is also available on Xiaomi MIX Flip. In actual use, the 50mm Spin Focus and 75mm Portrait modes perform best for portrait photography, with the highest usage frequency and success rate. Users can also adjust the aperture size according to their preferences, effectively highlighting the subject while achieving a certain depth of field and blurring effect.

All the following portraits were shot directly in portrait mode with Xiaomi MIX Flip:

The lighting configuration for this shoot was excellent, and Xiaomi MIX Flip maximized this advantage. The transition between light and shadow on the model's face is particularly distinct, with sufficient detail retention. Importantly, the model's skin tone is also beautified to some extent, neither overly "real" nor exaggerated to the point of losing facial lines and details.

When multiple subjects appear in the frame simultaneously, Xiaomi MIX Flip's portrait algorithm adjusts the aperture size and shutter speed in real-time to ensure that the main subject is clear while the other subjects are also "complete" in the image.

In conclusion, Xiaomi MIX Flip's imaging performance meets LeiTech's expectations for a foldable flagship. The combination of two high-quality lenses makes it capable of handling most daily shooting scenarios. Its excellent white balance and unique Leica color palette significantly enhance the overall success rate of photos.

Following the success of Xiaomi 13 Ultra and Xiaomi 14 Ultra's photography grip set, Xiaomi introduces a new accessory for MIX Flip—the Portable Photo Set.

In essence, Xiaomi has cleverly integrated Mijia's pocket printer with the phone. After connecting the printer, users can find the "Portable Photo" function in the camera interface and instantly print their photos. Although the photo paper size is smaller than traditional instant cameras, it satisfies users' daily recording needs.

Strength is the qualification of being called a flagship.

Small foldable phones, limited by their size and proportions, often have to compromise on performance and heat dissipation. Although this is an unavoidable compromise, manufacturers have no right to make consumers pay for it.

Even though small foldable phones still struggle to deliver top-tier hardware performance for extended periods, Xiaomi has not skimped on the most straightforward hardware configurations.

Indeed, the Xiaomi MIX Flip is equipped with the third-generation Snapdragon 8 processor. Many of you can likely guess its theoretical performance without needing Little Lei to elaborate.

In the AnTuTu benchmark test, the Xiaomi MIX Flip scored a total of 1,880,933 points. While this score is somewhat lower compared to conventional third-generation Snapdragon 8 models, it represents an absolute dominance in the small foldable phone market.

In another performance testing software, Geekbench 6, the Xiaomi MIX Flip scored 2,093 points in single-core tests and 6,270 points in multi-core tests, which is in line with expectations.

Thanks to the unique internal cooling system, new insulating materials, and a large VC vapor chamber of up to 3,500mm², the Xiaomi MIX Flip concentrates heat in the upper right corner and the right edge of the device in extreme scenarios, keeping the handheld part warm but not hot. In other words, the Xiaomi MIX Flip can handle long gaming sessions without significant stress.

During the gaming test, the Xiaomi MIX Flip maintained smooth and stable performance over five consecutive games of "Honor of Kings," with the frame rate consistently around 120 FPS. This performance didn't surprise Little Lei, as "Honor of Kings" is a piece of cake for the Xiaomi MIX Flip.

The second game tested was the well-known "Genshin Impact." After twenty minutes of continuous running and combat, the frame rate graph showed a very stable curve. This level of performance in such a slim device demonstrates that Xiaomi excels in performance tuning and heat dissipation.

By the way, due to the Xiaomi MIX Flip's more stable hinge design, it won't bend under slight pressure when held in landscape mode, avoiding any awkward moments.

Is this the gold standard?

It's quite challenging for Little Lei to evaluate this phone from a purely subjective perspective. To get a well-rounded view, Little Lei also consulted several friends and colleagues who have used small foldable phones, asking them what features a small foldable phone should have from the user's standpoint.

Colleague A stated that her reason for choosing a small foldable phone is straightforward: it looks good and offers a fresh experience, making it a head-turner when dining out with friends. However, she emphasized that aesthetics should not come at the expense of usability. She always has to carry a power bank to keep it charged when she's out. If future small foldable phones could improve battery life (at least lasting an entire day), she would likely continue using them.

Colleague B is a tech enthusiast who buys almost every intriguing product as soon as it hits the market, so he is very familiar with foldable phones. For someone who owns several foldable phones, the key to winning him over is offering something unique and innovative. In other words, the most important aspects of a small foldable phone are innovation and practicality.

Both Little Lei's friends have valid points. We are willing to spend a significant amount of money on a foldable phone not to show off but to get an excellent user experience. So, has the Xiaomi MIX Flip achieved this? Little Lei believes it has and even set a benchmark in the market.

In the increasingly stable foldable phone market, Xiaomi didn't just follow the trend by launching conventional products. Instead, they addressed specific user pain points with improvements and breakthroughs. The meticulously crafted design, more sophisticated hinge structure resulting in a lighter and thinner body, and excellent hardware configurations make the Xiaomi MIX Flip stand out as more unique.

If the 2016 Xiaomi MIX led the entire smartphone industry towards full-screen designs, then the newly released Xiaomi MIX Flip sets a benchmark in the small foldable phone market. While the future development of small foldable phones remains uncertain, it is clear that for the coming years, the Xiaomi MIX Flip will serve as the most standard reference point.