The foldable phone category is overspilling with options beyond Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold and Flip devices. The newest entries are two foldables from Xiaomi, including the book-style Xiaomi Mix Fold 4, which raises the bar for foldables across the board.
The Mix Fold 4 is Xiaomi’s fourth foldable and also the thinnest and lightest one to date. It measures 4.59mm in thickness when unfolded and 9.47mm rolled back. Xiaomi says the hinge has been shrunk significantly without compromising its strength, while the internals are reinforced with carbon fiber plates to make the overall build lighter than previous generations. The curved edges on the screen and the back make the phone much more ergonomic and easier to hold.
The company also uses 3D stacking to utilize space more effectively. With these optimizations combined, the Mix Fold 4 weighs only 226 grams (7.97 ounces), which is not only lighter than the Galaxy Z Fold 6, but also the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
For displays, the Mix Fold 4 uses a 7.98-inch flexible inner panel from Samsung with a 2488 x 2244 resolution and a dynamic refresh rate that switches between 1Hz and 120Hz. The outer screen measures 6.56 inches and has a resolution of 2520 x 1080. It also refreshes at up to 120Hz with similar dynamic refresh rate switching like the larger inner screen. Both displays support Dolby Vision and HDR10+ for enjoyable content viewing.
Besides its thin and light profile, a significant highlight of the Xiaomi foldable is its exquisite set of cameras. Benefiting from the company’s engagement with camera equipment maker Leica, the Mix Fold 4 uses specialized lenses and color optimizations for better photos. The quad camera arrangement includes a 50-megapixel primary camera with a custom Light Fusion 800 sensor and a Leica Summilux lens on top. It is complemented by a 12MP ultrawide camera and a 50MP telephoto with 2x optical zoom that is primarily for portraits. Lastly, there is a 5X periscope telephoto lens for longer-range close-ups. That’s the most optical zoom we have seen on a foldable yet.
Additionally, Xiaomi enhances portraits using a machine learning model trained with actual photos taken by professional photographers. The model renders a look that is “a little more ideal than reality” without straying from the actual scene.
Inside is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip driving the Mix Fold 4. Along with the flagship chip, Xiaomi offers up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. The hardware is backed by a beefy 5,100mAh battery that supports 67 watts of fast wired charging and 50W of fast wireless charging.
With all these features outpacing prominent foldables, including the Galaxy Z Fold 6, the Xiaomi Mix Fold 4 is likely one of the most powerful and attractive foldables launched this year. Unfortunately, though, like the previous three generations of the Xiaomi Mix Fold, the Fold 4 will also be limited to China. It starts at 8,999 yuan, which translates to roughly $1,240. The top-end with 1TB of storage will sell in homeland China for 10,999 yuan or approximately $1,515. The phone comes in blue and white color options, along with a special black composite fiber edition.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi also launched its first flip phone today, which may likely make its way out of the region and into the global market.
