Xiaomi MIX Fold 4
To be honest, the Xiaomi MIX Fold 4 is a premium model, and expensive as well, so it must have something to convince users to buy it. So, does it? In short, I believe it does. It manages to cram a big battery, wireless charging, and four cameras into a body that is less than 5 mm thick (unfolded). There is no second foldable phone in the world that can do this. This is supposed to be the best phone that Xiaomi has ever made with its cutting-edge tech. Could it be the best foldable phone of 2024? Let’s check it out.
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Design
Numbers always stay on the surface, maybe you don’t have a clear idea of how thin the less than 5mm MIX Fold 4 really is. Then I will put it this way: if you plug the charging cable into the USB-C port, you’ll realize that the plug is even thicker than the body.
Everyone should have some keys, right? Put one next to the MIX Fold 4 and you’ll realize they’re actually about the same in terms of thickness. So this is the MIX Fold 4, one of the thinnest foldable phones in the world. There shouldn’t be any phone much thinner than it in the future, after all, there’s no way to make the USB-C port any smaller.
It also manages to be extremely light. Anyway, when you use it folded, it’s really very close to the experience of a normal phone. The rest of the features are pretty much the same as most foldable phones, with IR emitter, NFC, and side fingerprint recognition. The USB specs are the same as the MIX Fold 3, which is 3.2 Gen 1.
Of course, there is nothing perfect in the world. The camera module bulges out quite a lot, as you have to cram in four cameras. The Fold 4’s two speakers are placed diagonally, meaning that no matter how you hold the phone, your hand will always block one of them, which is a bit annoying. The tightly shut hinge and rounded frame make it incredibly slippery. Plus, it’s just so thin. If you are not being careful when you unfold it, you may have to pay a heavy price.
Hinges
Because it got thinner, the hinges got smaller. And since the hinges have gotten smaller, the creases have gotten deeper. If you’re the type of person who cares a lot about creases, then the MIX Fold 4 might drive you crazy. The center area would be rarely touched in everyday use, and it’s only noticeable when you look at it sideways. So I personally don’t care much about that.
Thanks to the hinge material and craftsmanship upgrades, the MIX Fold 4 opens and closes much more smoothly. It’s also more stable when hovering at any angle. The carbon fiber version I have also has a certain textured finish on the hinge area. Here again, I recommend this colorway, it’s really nice and silky smooth, and I love it so much.
Display
There’s not much to say about the screen. No unacceptable drawbacks, except for the more noticeable creases we just mentioned. The specs are not much of an upgrade over the Fold 3, and all the features that should be there are there. The look and feel of the inner and outer screens are also in line, even if they come from different manufacturers.
The protective glass of the outer screen is made of Xiaomi’s latest Dragon Ceramic Guard glass, and the top and bottom are also curved. Overall, they are still two excellent screens, just not particularly impressive.
Performance & Gaming
The processor in the MIX Fold 4 is still the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Benchmark scores will be a little lower than a regular 8 Gen 3 phone. Considering how thin it is, it makes sense. Unsurprisingly, in the heavy gaming test MIX Fold 4 screwed up.
It’s clear that the gaming experience isn’t as good as the previous generation. The reason for this is also simple, just look at the power consumption and temperature, and you can see that the 8 Gen 3 wasn’t able to play at full strength because it was too hot.
But also for the same reason, the heat dissipates very quickly. Check out this curve bump, I just put it on my desk for a few seconds to measure the temperature, and its gaming frame rate recovers quickly. With the help of a phone cooler, maybe its gaming experience can reach the next level.
Anyway, if you often play big games on your phone, then MIX Fold 4 is not for you. Or maybe all foldable phones are not for you, so let’s not be too harsh on Xiaomi either.
Camera
Although the MIX Fold 4 has four cameras like the MIX Fold 3. Unfortunately, the 3.2x telephoto lens of the 3 has been replaced with a 2x standard lens. so the focal length coverage of the MIX Fold 4 is not as wide as its predecessor.
The good news is that the imaging quality of this lens is better, with a higher amount of pixels. Combined with the fact that this sensor supports In-Sensor Zoom, 4x zoom is actually not a problem for the Fold 4. There is no noticeable loss of clarity in good lighting conditions. Even with the help of AI, it will be clearer when zoomed in on some specific environments. And it’s the only lens that supports the macro zoom feature, which creates beautiful photos in the right scene. Overall this camera is great, but there is one big downside to this 2x camera: there is no Optical Image Stabilization.
when the light is bad, even photos taken at the 46mm native focal length can be blurry. Even an expert photographer can’t guarantee that every photo will be clear. So I still prefer the telephoto camera of MIX Fold 3, at least the night shooting experience will be much better.
The other three cameras are among the best in foldable phones. Pretty much the same as the previous generation, I’m very satisfied with every single photo. Because there is not much sharpening effect, the photos all look very natural. Unlike the 14 Ultra, the MIX Fold 4’s colors are a little less saturated in Leica AUTHENTIC mode. So whether to take photos with Leica AUTHENTIC or the VIBRANT, has to be decided by your own experience.
Battery & Charging
Because of the increased battery capacity, the battery life will be improved. You can’t avoid charging twice a day if you use the inner screen frequently. The wired charging power is still 67W, and since the battery has gotten a little bigger, the charging speed doesn’t look as good as the MIX Fold 3. The charging time is close to an hour, it is on the slow side nowadays, and it is something that the MIX Fold 5 will need to address.
Conclusion
So, it’s true that the MIX Fold 4 is a great foldable phone. It’s just that it’s not as much of an improvement over the MIX Fold 3 as I thought it would be. It has become lighter and thinner, and not much else has changed. A lot of the software has not been optimized for it either, and it’s exactly the same as last year.
Again, every phone has its target audience. I’m sure a lot of people who care about weight and thickness will like the MIX Fold 4 a lot. At least the price has not gone up, and it’s still one of the best options for most people.
