Xiaomi has revealed its latest foldables in the form of the Mix Fold 4 and the all-new Mix Flip – but what’s the difference between the two?
While some differences – like one book-style foldable and one clamshell-style foldable – are pretty obvious, there are more nuanced differences between these two flagship-level foldables.
We’ve not gone hands-on with either foldable just yet, having launched exclusively in China for now, here’s how the Xiaomi Mix Fold 4 and Xiaomi Mix Flip compare on paper.
The Mix Fold 4 has larger screens
Being a book-style foldable, it’s safe to say that the Mix Fold 4 has larger screens than its clamshell alternative. It has a cover screen that’s already in regular smartphone territory, measuring in at 6.56 inches, while the inner foldable screen takes things up to a whopping 7.98 inches.
For comparison, the Xiaomi Mix Flip has a 4-inch cover screen and a 6.86-inch foldable display within.
That said, the two phones do share the same display tech, meaning the experience should be consistent both between the two phones, and the respective phone’s inner and outer screens. Key specs include a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support with a peak brightness of 30000 nits, and each uses AMOLED tech for vivid colours and ultra-deep blacks.
The Mix Fold 4 has a more versatile camera setup
If you’re a keen mobile photographer who wants a foldable, you’re likely better off with the book-style Mix Fold 4. It not only matches the camera offering of the Mix Flip, but adds an additional two cameras to its rear-facing offering.
Let’s start with the Xiaomi Mix Flip. It has a competitive camera offering for a clamshell foldable, offering a dual 50MP camera system comprising an OIS-enabled f/1.7 primary lens and a 2x f/2.0 telephoto lens. However, Those who want to take ultrawides will be disappointed, with no ultrawide lens available – much like the new Motorola Razr 50 Ultra.
The same can’t be said for the Mix Fold 4 however; alongside the same 50MP main and 2x telephoto lenses, the foldable offers a 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide for those scenic vistas, along with a more powerful 10MP f/2.9 periscope lens with 5x zoom for a more varied zoom experience.
The Mix Flip is way more compact
When it comes to portability, the clamshell-style Xiaomi Mix Flip has a definite advantage over the book-style Mix Fold 4. While the latter folds into something resembling a standard candybar smartphone, sporting a 6.56-inch cover screen, the Mix Flip goes even further.
Specifically, the Mix Fold 4 measures in at 159.4 x 73.1 x 9.5mm in its folded form, while the Mix Flip manages to shrink down to a way more compact 74 x 74 x 16mm. This should not only make the Mix Flip easier to hold, especially in its folded form with its 4-inch cover screen, but it should make it much more at home in a small pocket or bag.
That said, the Mix Flip is comfortably thicker than the Mix Fold 4, measuring in at 16mm folded and 7.6mm unfolded, compared to the Fold’s 9.5mm and 4.6mm, so it’s also worth considering whether you want a more compact foldable, or a thinner one.
Both sport a top-end chipset
No matter whether you opt for the Mix Fold 4 or Mix Flip, you’ll be getting top-end performance from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, along with a healthy dose of 12GB or 16GB of RAM and either 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of storage depending on the variant you go for.
We’ve not gone hands-on with Xiaomi’s foldables specifically, so we can’t comment on performance just yet, but we have used plenty of other smartphones that sport the chipset.
Based on the performance of those phones, it’s safe to say that the Xiaomi foldables should deliver a rapid experience in everyday use, and that should translate well to gaming too.
Neither are available to buy outside of China – for now
As good as Xiaomi’s two top-end foldables are, you won’t be able to buy one unless you’re in China.
You’ve also got the option of importing from China, but bear in mind that the phones will ship with the company’s China-focused skin, lacking support for Google Play out of the box and boasting a wide range of pre-installed China-only apps.
That said, a Xiaomi rep told Trusted Reviews to ‘watch this space’ when asking about a wider release, so it could be that Xiaomi does have plans to give the foldables a wider release in the coming months. We’ll just have to wait and see for now.
