What year is it? Sliders are making a comeback. Xiaomi announced their new Mi Mix 3 model in China and at the Forbidden City (also known as the Palace Museum) no less. They even introduced a special co-branded Palace Museum edition that has enhanced specifications above the base model. And the base model is already impressive as it is.
Vivo Nex and Oppo Find X utilised motors to raise the selfie camera, to provide the full-screen experience and avoid the notch. Xiaomi has taken a different path and placed neodymium magnets that are calibrated to open and close the sliding mechanism with the right amount of force. Laboratory tests were done to ensure a 300,000 lifecycle on the mechanism. Opening your phone 300 times a day would mean 110,000 cycles of the mechanism over one year. Potentially, this means you could open the phone 300 times a day for three years!
With the slider in place, Xiaomi had the space to put in a 6.39-inch full screen display pushing 2340 x 1080-pixels on a Full HD AMOLED panel. That gives it a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and an amazing 93.4% screen-to-body ratio. Xiaomi did not limit the use of the slider to just the camera, it is also customisable to answer calls or even allowing screen capture. It also allows various other options.
For cameras, Xiaomi put in a 12MP + 12MP rear dual camera that is reminiscent of the Mi 8. In a bid to improve night shots, the manufacturer added hardware multi-frame noise reduction, AI light metering and AI image stabilisation and calibration. The rear dual camera also features 4K video recording (although we’re not sure if it’s 30 fps or 60 fps) and 960 fps slow-motion video capture.
On the front, Xiaomi put in 24MP + 2MP that uses Super Pixel technology to combine data from four pixels into one pixel. A method known as pixel-binning that is popular to ensure brighter pictures in low-light situations.
More good news, Xiaomi will be bundling 10W wireless chargers with every unit of the Mix 3. There’s also a dedicated AI button on the left of the phone, which wakes the AI assistant known as Xiao Ai.
The Mi Mix 3 will be available in China first, in the following colours – Jade Green, Sapphire Blue, and Onyx Black. The China pricing is as follows;
6GB RAM + 128GB ROM for RMB 3,299 (~RM1,979)
8GB RAM + 128GB ROM for RMB 3,599 (~RM2,159)
8GB RAM + 256GB ROM for RMB 3,999 (~RM2,400)
10GB RAM + 256GB ROM for RMB 4,999 (Palace Museum Edition) (~2,940)
Malaysia release and pricing has yet to be announced.
