Review of Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 - the latest frameless slider with pop-up camera

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Mi Mix 3 was announced 4 days ago, and Lifehacker has already held it in his hands and found out what this mid-budget smartphone with the makings of a flagship is capable of.

Specifications

Display	6.39 inches, Full HD + (2,340 x 1,080 pixels), Super AMOLED
Platform	Snapdragon 845 Octa Core 2.8GHz
RAM	6/8/10 GB
Built-in memory	128/256 GB
Cameras	Main - 12 + 12 Mp, front - 24 + 2 Mp
Shooting video	Up to 2160p with 60 FPS
SIM card	Two slots for nanoSIM
Wireless interfaces	Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, NFC
Connectors	USB Type-C
Sensors	Fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, compass
Unlocking	By face, by print, PIN
Operating system	Android 9.0 Pie + MIUI 10
Battery	3 200 mAh
Dimensions (edit)	157.9 × 74.7 × 8.5mm
The weight	218 g

Equipment

In a black matte box - a smartphone, a plastic hard case, a USB - USB Type-C cable, an adapter (the Lifehacker got a sample with a Chinese plug), a paper clip, a headphone adapter and, attention, wireless charging - a pleasant and unexpected bonus for a not the most expensive device …

Design and ergonomics

I had a sample of a deep dark emerald color in my hands. The tint is difficult to convey in the photo, but, in my opinion, the option is very successful.

"Bangs" with sensors are no longer a controversial element, but rather a sign of good form for modern smartphones. In this model, Xiaomi has abandoned it. At first glance, it seems like a great solution: the device looks fresh.

But borrowing was not done without borrowing. For example, we seem to have already seen such a camera module from someone.

Mi Mix 3 is weighty, if not heavy. And big. But it fits comfortably in the hand: the body of the smartphone is rather narrow.

Looking ahead, I will say that the design seems to me to be the main advantage of Mi Mix 3. I want to touch and examine the smartphone, it looks much more expensive than the devices of its segment and is ready to compete with the flagships.

Slider

The main feature of the Mi Mix 3 is a retractable module with front-facing cameras and speaker. I'm not sure if this is a good solution that will become popular, and here's why:

1. The slide system excludes the appearance of moisture and dust protection in the device.
2. The presence of moving parts inexorably reduces the life of the device, especially in inept hands.
3. It's easy to move a module, but it's even easier to do nothing and put up with the frame.

It is in Mi Mix 3 that the slider does not have a very easy move. Well, intuitively I want to move the body in the other direction - as with the "roll up" gesture. You can get used to it, but the process itself does not cause pleasant emotions. And that's bad.

It is not necessary to extend the slider during a conversation: there is a membrane on the edge above the screen through which you can hear the sound from the speaker.

Screen and sound

Screen diagonal - 6, 39 inches, resolution - 2,340 × 1,080 pixels.

Mi Mix 3 is positioned as absolutely frameless. This is not entirely true, especially if you look closely at the lower edge. This does not affect the work with the device in any way, so this is not a minus, but a nagging of the author.

The AMOLED display is bright and contrasty, and the color reproduction is excellent. With the naked eye, the differences from the flagships of Samsung and Apple cannot be noticed.

For a short time spent with the device, a minus of too thin side frames was revealed: when trying to reach any button on the left side, I often touched the right side of the screen with my palm. This problem can be solved by changing the grip, but at first it is terribly annoying.

The top speaker here is extremely conversational, which means that all music and audio when watching videos is broadcast in mono. The sound is good, the volume margin is average.

Camera

I spent an hour and a half with my smartphone and managed to take only a few pictures. The main camera with two 12-megapixel lenses did not cause any complaints, the quality of photos in sufficient natural or artificial lighting is excellent.

In natural light

In natural light

Under artificial lighting

Classic selfie in a mirror with artificial light

The resolution of the main front camera is 24 megapixels, the auxiliary one is 2 megapixels. The photos are really detailed, but everything is spoiled by the software beautifier, which is included by default. The algorithms work neatly, but noticeably. Selfie quality is not for everybody.

The beautifier can be turned off.

There were no people around me, so I couldn't test portrait mode. Of course, I tried to photograph the lamp with beautiful bokeh - I didn't like the result. Perhaps due to the fact that it is a lamp.

Selfie portraits are very average: the clipping is rough, sometimes incorrect and always artificially smoothed.

Protection

Mi Mix 3 supports unlocking by different types of PIN, fingerprint and face. To activate the latter, you need to move the case so that the front camera can see you.

Local Face ID works smartly and correctly, but there are questions about its reliability. When setting up, the smartphone just took a picture of me. And that's all. No head turns or facial sculpting. Suspicious.

The fingerprint scanner is located in the optimal place on the back panel - below the camera and in the middle. Probably, with long use, I would choose the finger unlock method as the main one.

Performance, autonomy and software

I didn’t have time to check these three things. Therefore, there are few specifications.

The smartphone is powered by an eight-core Snapdragon 845 with a maximum frequency of 2.8 GHz. Different modifications differ in the amount of RAM - from 6 to 10 GB. Most likely, there will be no complaints about the performance of the Mi Mix 3.

Also, the Mi Mix 3 has a battery with 3 200 mAh on board. Fast and wireless charging supported.

The global firmware for Mi Mix 3 has not been released yet. The Lifehacker got a smartphone from China for testing with all the consequences: the absence of the Russian language and a bunch of applications and services with hieroglyphs.

The software shell is MIUI 10 based on Android 9 Pie. Some iPhone gestures are supported.

For example, with a swipe up, you can minimize all applications, and holding your finger after the swipe, you can view all open programs.

Impressions

The Mi Mix 3 left mixed impressions. I really liked the way it looks and it seems to outperform most devices from the Chinese market in terms of user experience.

The smartphone has its drawbacks, and the most significant of them, I'm afraid, will be the slider - the main feature of the device.

As for all the disadvantages associated with the programmed work of the device, everything can change by the start of sales, the test version of Mi Mix 3 still got to the Lifehacker.

The prices are as follows:

• 6 GB + 128 GB - 3,299 yuan (≈ 32,000 rubles);
• 8 GB + 128 GB - 3,599 yuan (≈ 34,100 rubles);
• 8 GB + 256 GB - 3,999 yuan (≈ 37,900 rubles);
• 10 GB + 256 GB - 4,999 yuan (≈ 47,300 rubles).

The date of the start of sales in Russia is unknown. Most likely, the smartphone will start selling in our company at the beginning of next year.