Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 is another great reminder that the best foldables aren’t sold in the US

Ben Schoon | Aug 14 2023 - 7:06 am PT

Foldable phones have come a long way in just a few years, but the best innovations have not come to the US and other major markets, instead being exclusive to China. Now, the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 has been announced with a super-thin design, impressive specs and hardware, and a great price, but it won’t be coming to the US either.

Announced this morning, the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 is the company’s third major foldable generation. The device builds on the base Mix Fold releases with expected updates such as the use of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, but brings more to the table than that.

On a hardware front, the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 looks pretty impressive. It has an updated hinge design that Xiaomi says is good for 500,000 folds. That’s over twice what Samsung promises on the Galaxy Z Fold 5, and well beyond what the Flip 5 held up to in a recent torture test. The new hinge also supports “Hover Mode,” the ability to hold at a specific angle, at any point between 45-135 degrees.

Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 also touts a new, tough composite fiber design, which can slim down the device more than the glass variant. Either way, though, you’re getting a foldable that’s thinner than anything currently sold in the US. Where Galaxy Z Fold 5 measures in around 13mm, and Google Pixel Fold at just over 12mm, the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 measures 10.96mm for the thicker glass model, and 10.86mm for the fiber option. It’s not the thinnest out there – Honor Magic V2 still holds that crown – but it’s incredible. The Fold 3 weighs in at 255g for the fiber model, and 259g if you go glass. There’s no word on an IP rating, notably.

In that hardware, Xiaomi is packing some big displays. The outer display is a 6.56-inch FHD+ OLED panel with a traditional 21:9 aspect ratio, while the inner panel measures 8.06 inches and is slightly wider than it is tall. Both displays are capable of 120Hz, but only the inner display is LTPO. You’ll find Xiaomi’s usual heavy skin here on top of Android 13.

Cameras on the Fold 3 include a 50MP primary sensor, 12MP ultrawide, and two 10MP telephoto cameras with 3.2x and 5x lenses, and all with Xiaomi’s Leica partnership providing some software enhancements.

Finally, rounding things out, the Mix Fold 3 is equipped with at least 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage and 12GB of RAM alongside its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip (which is overclocked), and goes up to 1TB and 16GB of RAM. The whole package runs on a 4,800 mAh battery with 67W fast charging and 50W wireless charging too.

Pricing on Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 starts at 8,999 yuan, a little under $1,250 USD when directly converted. The device launches in China later this week, and is expected to launch in other countries at IFA in the coming weeks. But, as with everything else Xiaomi sells, it won’t be coming to the US.

9to5Google’s Take

Four years into foldable phones, the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 shows just how far we’ve come, and how starved the US market is for better options. Not only is Xiaomi’s latest foldable a stunning hardware achievement, but it’s so much cheaper than what’s available stateside today by a considerable margin.

Samsung’s latest Galaxy Z Fold 5 is truly a great foldable, and the Google Pixel Fold gets a lot right for a first-generation release, but elsewhere in the world, options like this exist, and it’s hard not to be jealous.