XIAOMI MI MIX 3

amazon XIAOMI MI MIX 3 reviews

Xiaomi’s Mix line, since its official launch in 2016, has always been an interesting product line, because they are the way that brands from China show their creativity. Mi Mix 3 is no exception. After two versions of Mi Mix 2 / Mi Mix 2s is somewhat safe with the main purpose of overcoming the weaknesses of the early Mi Mix, this time Xiaomi is more brave, more confident and gives a Mi Mix 3 with a “new” design, inspired by … slider phones have disappeared from the market a dozen years ago.

The death of the slider phone is not a coincidence, it is a result of the transformation of the technology world, when Apple changed the world with the first iPhone. When companies are trying to find a way to finish in a completely unmarked smartphone race, with “rabbit ears”, “moles”, “water drops” or even two screens like the Nubia X, are set Is sliding body design the right decision of Xiaomi?

Design:

How long have you been holding a slider phone? For many people, it’s the days of being students, when Facebook hasn’t invaded our lives and anyone who owns a slider phone looks cool. Now, holding the Mi Mix 3 in hand, maybe that “cool” feeling is no longer the same, but that doesn’t mean Xiaomi’s flagship is not a special phone.

Overview of the design, Mi Mix 3 continues to follow the philosophy of the previous two generations, with the back made of ceramic material has partly become the symbol of Mi Mix line and aluminum frame. Combined with a weight of up to 218g, Mi Mix 3 is one of the heaviest smartphones on the market, but compensates for its “hands-on” grip and certainty. Personally, this is not a problem, but users who are accustomed to holding thin and light smartphones may not be comfortable.

The sliding mechanism – the most prominent feature of Mi Mix 3’s design – is completely like classic slider phones, not automatically like Oppo Find X or Vivo Nex. Thanks to this sliding mechanism, Xiaomi was able to hide the camera cluster into the camera body to reduce the screen border instead of placing it at the bottom of the machine, causing discomfort when used as previous Mi Mix versions. Mi Mix 3 is not too excited about taking selfies, so Mi Mix 3’s ability to hide unnecessary cameras is a useful feature for me.

However, the slider mechanism also makes the body of the device a bit thicker, 8.5mm versus 8.1 Mi Mi 2s. In addition, dirt and water can be easily squeezed into the body of the machine more than the traditional design, so users will have to pay more attention to the care and protection of their equipment.

According to Xiaomi, Mi Mix 3 uses permanent magnets to lock the phone in a fixed position when sliding. Actual use, sliding operation is quite gentle, does not need too much force. If durability is always a concern for users with slider phones, Xiaomi has reassured users that Mi Mix 3 is still “healthy” after a 300,000 slip test in laboratory conditions. ie if you slip 100 times a day, it takes 8 years to pass this number. But as mentioned above, if dust or water gets inside the machine, that’s another story.

Due to the sliding body design, Mi Mix 3’s screen / body area ratio (excluding sliding parts) amounted to 93.4%. This is Xiaomi’s smartphone with the largest screen rate ever, but still lost a bit compared to 93.8% of Oppo Find X. The reason is because Mi Mix 3’s “chin” still has quite thick compared to the other three edges, this also makes the machine lose some balance.

On the other hand, Mi Mix 3’s design has almost no change compared to Mi Mix seniors 2s. The device still has a dual-placed camera cluster and a one-touch fingerprint sensor in a position that fits the reach of the index finger. The ceramic back is very polished, mirrors can be seen, but the minus point is very smooth and sweat perspiration. Xiaomi still offers a hard plastic case inside the box, and this panel has been designed to not interfere with the sliding mechanism’s performance, so I recommend users to use case phone.

On the other hand, in terms of design in general, Mi Mix 3 still inherits the familiar points of the Mix line. We still have dual sim card nano, single speaker strip with balanced hole design with USB Type-C on the bottom edge. A notable new feature is a separate physical button for virtual assistant features, like the Bixby button on Samsung devices. The version sold in the market outside China is integrated with Google Assistant. Xiaomi has allowed users to assign certain functions to this key but is still quite small, hoping the company will update more in the future.

Impressive screen, sound inadequate

Mi Mix 3 has a large screen, up to 6.39 inches with a ratio of 19.5: 9, FullHD + resolution (1080 x 2340px). Next to Mi Mix 2, the device is narrower but significantly longer, so using one hand – especially for those with small hands – may be more difficult.

The machine uses Super AMOLED panels, according to the understanding, they are manufactured by Samsung. The display quality of the base plate is good, the color is deep and genuine, high contrast and wide viewing angle. Mi Mix 3’s maximum brightness is up to 600 nits, the actual experience shows that the device still displays well in strong light conditions, harsh sunshine.

One of Mi Mix 3’s new features is the HDR10-compliant machine, combined with the large-sized Super AMOLED display that provides an impressive entertainment experience. The images are vivid and brilliant, not inferior to many high-end products from Apple or Samsung, which cost more.

The screen is so impressive, but the sound of Mi Mix 3 can’t make me happy. The device has only a small range of speakers and volume, the sound quality is nothing special. The inadequate sound quality also greatly affected the overall entertainment experience, something that Xiaomi should have done better.

MIUI 10, Android Pie “strange but familiar”

With MIUI 10 on Mi Mix 3, Xiaomi still allows users to choose between navigating with a virtual three-key cluster or gesture navigation. However, due to the large screen size, the use of three virtual keys will be quite difficult, thinking Xiaomi should boldly and remove this option, especially when the machine owns a screen overflow and navigation by gestures are an inevitable trend of the market.

Overall, the interface of MIUI 10 looks brighter and “cleaner”, especially the control center icons and colors. The sound menu is also renewed, changing into three columns makes it easier to swipe. The most noticeable point is the recent Multi-tasking interface, when applications are displayed in two vertical rows, instead of one horizontal row as before. If you open multiple applications, you will find this interface quite convenient and useful when switching between apps.

As the only product of Xiaomi has slider design, Mi Mix 3 has an additional menu option for sliding operation. Here, users can assign a number of features when sliding the camera body, such as opening the camera, taking a selfie or opening the toolkit (clock, weather, computer, …). In addition, Xiaomi also has built-in 5 sound effects for users to choose when sliding, quite fun.

Mi Mix 3 has a face unlock feature, but unfortunately, even with the wide area for camera thanks to the sliding body design, it is not equipped with 3D face recognition system like Mi 8 Pro and Mi 8 Explorer Edition so this feature can completely be fooled by photos.

In addition, each time I unlocked my face, I had to slide the device down so it was inconvenient, with the very smooth ceramic back and sliding operation that made it easy to slip off my hands if I wasn’t careful. Therefore, the back fingerprint sensor is still the method I choose more often when using Mi Mix 3.

Left, basically, MIUI 10 does not have too much difference for the previous version, so users who used Xiaomi will have a very familiar feeling.

Top performance, the battery is “less”

Owning Qualcomm’s powerful Snapdragon 845 mobile chip with 6GB of RAM, Mi Mix 3 can “use” every task, including the heaviest games or applications. It doesn’t have a memory card slot, but 128GB of internal memory for the lowest priced version is more than enough for most users.

In actual use, operations to open, load, convert applications are quick and smooth, from Facebook, Messenger, Youtube to heavy games like Dead Trigger 2 or PUBG Mobile. The Adreno 630 GPU also ensures a smooth experience in almost every game despite being at the highest graphics setting.

On the AnTuTu Benchmark overall measurement application, Mi Mix 3 has a high score compared to other flagship Snapdragon 845 chips. However, Xiaomi’s flagship proved to be “short of breath” in the other two applications, GeekBench 4.0 and GFXBench Manhattan, when Mi Mix 3 is not only inferior to Apple iPhone XR but also Asus Zenfone 5Z or even Apple iPhone 8 Plus from 2017.

Regarding battery life, Mi Mix 3 owns 3,200 mAh battery, slightly lower than the two seniors Xiao Mi Mix 2 and Xiao Mi Mix 2s. In return, Mi Mix 3 incorporates Quick Charge 4.0+ technology, and Xiaomi has also included a Quick Charge 3.0 charger right in the box.

Through some familiar tests of BiaReview, Mi Mix 3 has an average battery life. Set the brightness at 70%, the movie player is continuously 13h16 minutes, playing games 4h32 minutes continuously, and surfing the web continuously for 6h22 minutes.

During Mi Mix 3 experience, due to low demand, mainly surfing Facebook, Messenger chat, watching Youtube and checking mail, sometimes playing PUBG Mobile, the device still meets one day of my work. Data from AccuBattery Pro application shows that on-screen machines are about 7 hours, and take about 1% per hour when off-screen because I turn on 4G / Wi-Fi continuously to receive notifications.

Using the included charger, Mi Mix 3 can charge 47% after 30 minutes, 91% after an hour and 100% after 1 hour 28 minutes. Mi Mix 3 supports wireless charging, and Xiaomi is also generous when it comes with a 10W charging dock in the box. Use the wireless charging dock, charging 65% after 1 hour 10 minutes, and fully charge after 2 hours 16 minutes.

where can you get a XIAOMI MI MIX 3 online

Xiaomi MI Mix 3 (128GB, 6GB) 6.39″ Display, Dual SIM 4G LTE GSM Unlocked Multi-Functional Magnetic Slider Smartphone w/Wireless Charging Pad (Black): Buy it now

Good camera, if you’re not too strict

Through the configuration, Mi Mix 3 is equipped with a total of four cameras, two rear cameras and two front cameras. Dual rear camera cluster includes 12MP camera using Sony IMX363 sensor F / 1.8 aperture, large pixel 1.4 micron, supports Dual Pixel phase-focus focus and optical stabilization (OIS). The secondary camera is a 12MP telephoto camera with a 1.0 micron pixel. Mi Mix 3’s selfie camera includes a 24MP main camera, 0.9 micron pixel and a 2MP secondary camera for depth measurement of bokeh images. The camera has a flash light for selfie camera clusters.

Mi Mix 3’s photography interface has almost no difference compared to other Xiaomi machines, still “similar” iPhone with the bottom shooting modes, and above is to turn on / off HDR, flash , AI, … The only difference is the 2X optical zoom button just above the shooting mode selection section.

Like other Xiaomi smartphones recently, Mi Mix 3 also supports auto-adjust camera parameters based on the context of artificial intelligence (AI). The machine automatically detects scenes such as food, scenery, portraits and optimizes colors, sharpness, etc. However, in most cases, the machine simply pushes the saturation color to make it look fresh more flattering. Personally, I usually disable this feature.

In bright enough conditions, whether you turn on the AI ​​feature or not, Mi Mix 3 brings good results. High-definition images, keeping lots of details, the ability to reproduce colors and white balance are close to reality. However, HDR shooting speed is not as fast as I expected, moving objects are often blurred and it takes about 0.5 – 1 second to process images after each shot.

Due to the 1.4-micron large pixel-size sensor and the Dual Pixel dual-phase focusing technology, Mi Mix 3’s low-light shots are also of good quality. Notably, Xiaomi has integrated its all-new night mode for Mi Mix 3. When I activate this mode, I can clearly see the details of the image have improved, especially in areas near light sources. However, you must hold the camera steady so that the image does not become blurry, and after each shot it takes about 2 seconds for the camera to process the image. Therefore, this mode is only suitable for capturing static landscapes.

Mix 3 Mi owns a telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom capability. This camera gives good quality images in good lighting conditions, but often loses detail and suffers noise in low light conditions due to a telephoto camera with a small aperture and poor light output.

Regarding the ability to capture fonts, Mi Mix 3’s camera recognizes the subject well, is less likely to get into the subject under good lighting conditions, and the background is removed quite naturally. However, unfortunately, the device does not support the feature to adjust the level of font deletion before shooting and you can only edit the background blur after shooting. In addition, Mi Mix 3 captures fonts with a telephoto camera, so images are always zoomed in a bit, and due to poorer parameters than the main camera, the image quality is not good, this is clearly shown in low light conditions when the color The skin is somewhat pale and has a lot of noise.

Mi Mix 3 is also equipped with two lighting adjustment features: Light trails and Studio light quite similar to Samsung’s Art Bokeh and Apple’s Portrait Lighting, allowing users to create and create Highlight the subject.

Mi Mix 3’s selfie camera, despite having a high resolution of 24MP, has good image quality, which is what I have seen in the Mi 8 and Mi 8 Lite. There is an additional 2MP camera to measure the depth of field, but the ability to separate subjects with Mi Mix 3’s backdrop is not really impressive, being dodged in difficult places like shoulder and hair pins. However, the selfie in Mi Mix 3’s dimly lit condition is better than I expected when it comes to detail, less noise.

Summary

Mi Mix 3 is an interesting approach of Xiaomi, when it uses the past to direct us to the future. With many advantages such as unique design, thin border screen, flagship configuration but affordable price has become the brand of “Little Me”, Mi Mix 3 will definitely be a formidable opponent in the segment, like like the seniors in the Mix line of products that have been done.

However, it’s hard to say Mi Mix 3 is a perfect smartphone. The sliding body design, which is interesting and unique, still has potential durability risks. No 3D face detection feature, fingerprint sensor under the screen, unimpressive front camera, small speakerphone, “low” battery life are also Mi Mix 3 limitations that you should consider carefully.