The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 is one of the first smartphones to ship with 10-gigs of RAM. Read on to know what all makes it special
“The Mi Mix 3 is one of the first smartphones to ship with 10-gigs of RAM”
Xiaomi has always been the brand to tread unknown waters. From offering affordable-yet-powerful smartphones to launching ceramic-clad flagships, the phonemaker is among the pioneers in the smartphone industry. Taking that legacy forward, the brand launched its fourth-generation Mi Mix series flagship – the Mi Mix 3 – in China today. The latest flagship brings a lot of firsts to the table for the brand and also a fresh take on the sliding mechanism, which we saw on the OPPO Find X ( first impressions). But that’s not all. The smartphone packs in some of the most impressive features we’ve seen on a handset, and here’s a lowdown on the top five.
Unlike OPPO’s Find X, where questions were raised regarding the longevity and the durability of the motorised sliding section, the Mi Mix 3 comes in as a more convincing solution. Instead of making it complex, Xiaomi its latest with a manual sliding mechanism, which takes care of all the durability concerns. Moreover, the brand has fitted the panel with neodymium magnets, which opens the slider with a snap and also ensures it stays in place. Users can configure the slider to answer calls or even other tasks. The brand also claims that this sliding mechanism has a life expectancy of 3,00,000 cycles.
Moving on, the Mi Mix 3 also retains the signature ceramic construction of the Mi Mix series with curves on all four sides. Xiaomi is also moving on from single black hue and offering the latest launch in attractive colours like Onyx Black, Jade Green, and Sapphire Blue.
The unique design of the smartphone has enabled the brand to reduce the bezels all around for the maximum full-screen display, since the front camera, earpiece and sensors are all hidden in the sliding portion. In fact, the Mi Mix 3 offers an impressive screen-to-body ratio of 93.4 percent, which is an industry first. The flagship comes equipped with a sizeable 6.39-inch AMOLED display with a screen resolution and an aspect ratio of 19.5:9. Needless to say, the display offers an incredibly immersive viewing experience with crisp visuals.
So far, there have only been a handful of smartphones to cross the 100-points barrier on the DxOMark mobile camera benchmark test. The likes of which include flagships like Apple iPhone XS Max, Huawei P20 Pro, Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and HTC U12+. Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 has managed to clinch the third spot alongside the Samsung and HTC flagship with 103 overall score, and 108 highest photo score. The smartphone maker has equipped the Mi Mix 3 with a pair of 12-megapixel shooters on the back, which utilises the same sensors as the Mi 8 ( first impression). The setup has been loaded with features like hardware multi-frame noise reduction, AI light metering, and AI image stabilization, 4-axis OIS, 4K video recording and 960 fps slow-mo video.
As for self-portraits, the Mi Mix 3 flaunts a 24-megapixel Sony IMX576 sensor, which is coupled with a 2MP depth-sensing unit. The front snapper uses Super Pixel technology in low-light, which combines four pixels together to take in more light resulting in better clarity.
The Mi Mix 3 is a flag-bearing smartphone from the brand and as such, it comes with a loaded spec sheet. Ticking at its core is the latest and greatest from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 845 processor which is backed by Adreno 630 GPU. The USP of the handset however, is the massive 10-gigs of RAM, which is sure to boost the overall performance of the handset. Xiaomi is also offering 6GB and 8GB RAM variants of the smartphone. The storage options include 128GB and 256GB. In the software department, the handset boots Android 8.1 Oreo-based MIUI ROM and has support for Google ARCore and AI voice assistant. Speaking of the voice assistant, the phone features a dedicated AI button to trigger Xiao Ai, which is another first for Xiaomi.
As far as the Xiao Ai voice assistant, it can automatically adjust its loudness according to user’s voice and perform tasks at hardware as well as software level. Users can also customise the dedicated button with one-click and double-click to perform different functions.
Xiaomi has equipped its latest flagship with a 3,200mAh battery, which comes with support for fast charging. The smartphone also features wireless charging and comes with a 10W wireless charger bundled in the package. The brand claims that the wireless charging on the latest smartphone is 30 percent more efficient than the predecessor. Moreover, the smartphone supports Qi-standard, so should be compatible with any wireless charger you might already have.
The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 comes across as a perfect balance of innovation, power and beauty. The handset’s price starts at RMB 3,299 (~Rs 34,800) for the base model with 6GB RAM and goes all the way up to RMB 4,999 (~Rs 52,750) for the 10GB Forbidden City Special Edition. The smartphone is slated to go on sale in its home country starting November 1st, with its pre-orders going live from today. Sadly, there’s no confirmation as to when the smartphone will be reaching our shores.
