Smartphone Xiaomi Mi Mix Flex (Mi DualFlex) - advantages and disadvantages

The Xiaomi corporation adheres to the characteristic strictly style in its own phones. Experiments in this regard, by the way, include the release of the "frameless" Xiaomi Mi Mix and the slider Mi Mix 3. This year the brand is trying to transform the traditional style and wants to release a device that will be based on a folding screen and the ability to fold in half.

Not so long ago it became known that LG will provide a matrix for the phone, and now other sources have shared more extensive information about the new smartphone Xiaomi Mi Mix Flex (Mi DualFlex), the advantages and disadvantages of which are discussed in this article.

Positioning

Phones with widescreen displays, full-size frameless devices, sliders and folding gadgets. The market for mobile devices is actively moving forward, and despite the decline in sales, it is still far from "retirement". Just a couple of years ago, they argued that the phone industry is "dead", and manufacturers will not be able to impress users with something else, however, as practice shows, there are still a lot of ideas.

Late last year, the world was a little overwhelmed by the unique FlexPai, which folds in half. Of course, FlexPai is far from ideal and it has many drawbacks, but it is really possible to buy it, since all its disadvantages are mainly in software. Simply put, it is a finished product that transforms from a phone to a tablet and back again. Despite the fact that such "antics" have been expected for a long time, the release of the bending phone caused a lot of excitement.

The rest of the corporations also realize that such devices have potential, and therefore, not so long ago, the Xiaomi brand demonstrated on a video a phone of its manufacture functioning in a similar way. From the technical point of view, the device is more perfect, since it folds not 2, but 3 times. In addition, there is information that the device will be launched by Xiaomi corporation very soon. And now for more details.

What will it be called?

As for the name of the device, there is no reliable data for today, and some call it Mi Mix Flex, and others Mi DualFlex (probably because of the two curving halves). They have been talking about this phone from Xiaomi corporation for a long time, but from now on all speculation and rumors have been formally supported by representatives of the brand. For example, the president of Xiaomi Lin Bin Corporation recently showed the functioning of the device in a video:

The video is truly mind-boggling, as the phone it captures is fundamentally different from what FlexPai provides and what will be offered in the curving Galaxy F, which Samsung will be showing off later this month. The Xiaomi corporation has chosen a different path, and this is encouraging, since for the first time the brand does not imitate anyone at all. It is clear that the president of the corporation is flexing the engineering model in the video, and it must be admitted that the device looks and even functions perfectly.

One way or another, the Xiaomi corporation decided not to limit itself to one video, because after a while the president of the corporation published a post on the Chinese social network Weibo, where he shared a few more details regarding the Mi Mix Flex. Lin Bin emphasized that there were a lot of difficulties with the manufacture of the device, since the developers had to solve complex problems associated with the protective layer of the display, the screen itself and the device for transforming the phone into a tablet PC.

In addition, the corporation's programmers had to work on adapting the MIUI OS for this device. However, all the difficulties are almost solved, and the Xiaomi Mi Mix Flex (Mi DualFlex) will be the first phone on the planet that fits together on both sides anyway.

Xiaomi Mi Mix Flex (Mi Dual Flex) preview

Most of the phone companies have followed the bendable trend. The Xiaomi corporation has decided to keep up with its rivals and from now on more and more on the Internet publishes information that it is preparing to provide the market with a similar solution.

Appearance

Xiaomi Corp. has designed their idea of ​​a foldable smartphone, and it is completely different from the concept proposed by Samsung and described in the demo by Google employees. It is worth recalling that these 2 titanium electronics represent the promising foldable clamshell mobile phones. In fact, they should be tablet PCs that fold in half, like a sheet of paper, transforming into a smartphone.

Xiaomi Corporation has proposed a different idea. Their device has 2 "joints", and the tablet PC is divided into 3 zones:

• Central - it works as a display in the telephone mode;
• 2 sides, which are equal sized pieces that can be folded back to switch from tablet to phone mode.

It looks more fun. The smartphone feels more familiar in the hand, reminiscent of the Galaxy S7 Edge with a pronounced 3D curvature of the display.

The shell material will be protected by glass. The power key is on top. The location of the other buttons, as well as the card slots, speaker and slots, is still under wraps. They are not seen in the video.

Preliminary characteristics

Almost nothing was said about the hardware, but some information is still there.

Screen

The video shows how the president of the corporation holds the device between his thumb and pinky. This suggests that the concept of a display diagonal can go up to 7 inches.

The matrix will be made using AMOLED technology, since it is unrealistic to turn off the backlight and bend the edges on IPS.

Interface

The Xiaomi brand should not rely on Google's help in terms of software development. Perhaps for the smallest, since the search engine regularly introduces some "highlights" with a delay.

Xiaomi programmers themselves adapt MIUI, and the video shows that it is already functioning tolerably.

But the main difficulty lies not in the adaptation of the shell, but in the programs. They should be the least partly altered for similar displays. And that's a must for all foldable devices, not just from Xiaomi.

Users are looking forward to the advanced functionality of the device as they transition to tablet mode. It is worth recalling that the interface in Mi Pad is similar to the telephone one. It is not adjusted to the large diagonal, it lacks good functions that would be appropriate in a tablet PC. In general, albeit not immediately, but the Xiaomi corporation and other manufacturers should work on the "Tablet" mode.

Cameras

Alas, there is no information about the photographic module, even speculation and rumors. But it's worth noting that for such a unique device, you can choose an expensive, advanced camera. This is reasonable, considering that even Redmi note 7 will be released with a 48MP IMX586 sensor from Sony. It would be ironic to see anything worse in the Dual Flex (Mix) when compared to the budget model.

Architecture

The device is rumored to be powered by Snapdragon's 8-core 855 chip, which is built on an innovative design for Qualcomm, namely:

• 4 energy-efficient Kryo 485 Silver, clocked at 1.8 GHz;
• 3 high-performance Kryo 485 Gold clocked at 2.42 GHz;
• 1 x Kryo 485 Gold Prime Alpha core, clocked at 2.84 GHz.

It will be complemented by the graphics accelerator Adreno 640, which, without much difficulty, opens any games. The RAM will presumably be no less than 8 GB.

This would be a good "stuffing" for the Xiaomi DualFlex, because a large display needs a larger format and, of course, increased architecture performance.

The fact is that he will have to draw more pixels, in particular, this applies to games. Such a "combine" of multimedia capabilities simply has to be nimble, easily solve any problems. Therefore, it is unlikely that Xiaomi will choose last year's processor for these purposes.

Shortcomings of Xiaomi DualFlex

It should be noted right away that the video shows a preliminary model, which does not exclude a lot of shortcomings. However, there are some very significant ones. It should be noted that they are relevant not only for this device, but also for its “relatives” from other manufacturers.

Backlighting

Most likely, attentive users noticed the backlight in the video, which did not go out on the sides when Lin Bin bent them back. This should not be the case in continuous operation. The fact is that the "wings" remain sensitive to touch, and the backlight consumes a lot of energy.

Accidental clicks neutralization

The first minus leads to the second. The developers of Xiaomi corporation literally have to use such an advanced algorithm that would not identify accidental touches to the sides. Samsung had a problem with this at one time when they released the first smartphones with rounded screens.

Placement of photo modules

I wonder where the rear camera was installed and whether there will be a front camera, because they were not visible in the video. There are suggestions that it will be possible to use it exclusively in tablet mode, and the camera itself is on the panel, since there are no holes or protrusions on the display, and when the “wings” are hidden back, they hide everything, leaving no room for the lens.

Integrity

In some parts of the video, which was filmed from behind the president of Xiaomi corporation, the unevenness of the engineering model is striking. The developers have not yet been able to adjust the device in such a way that the fastening takes place efficiently and completely evenly.

Advantages and disadvantages

• Unique design concept;
• Incredibly powerful architecture.

• It is unclear how and when applications and games will be adapted;
• The deficiencies indicated in the review.

In conclusion, it should be noted that the estimated average price of the new model will be approximately 85,500 rubles. If this really turns out to be true, then the Xiaomi Mix Flex will be the most expensive phone ever for Xiaomi. The phone is expected to be released in the second quarter of 2019.