In case you haven't noticed, smartphone manufacturers have been waging a war on bezels lately. And it's been a difficult battle. There are some parts that are necessary to keep in front such the all-important selfie camera usually housed in the bezel. Most manufacturers opt to copy Apple's notched implementation. It's easily the hottest trend in smartphones right now.
But, some brave smartphone companies have found a way to finally defeat the bezels. Xiaomi is one of them. In a world of notched phones, the bezel-less Mi Mix 3 is a breath of fresh air. It's one of the first completely bezel-less smartphones ever.
This flagship from the Chinese giant achieves this feat through a curveball of a design change. It uses a mechanical slider design to house the selfie cameras. With the slider, the entire front screen that's devoid of anything but the display slides down to expose the cameras. It seems sturdy enough to last a few years and it has a satisfying click that locks it firmly in place when you use it.
It's a Beauty to Behold
There's a small cut out for an earpiece but other than that, the front is almost completely all-display. The 6.39" AMOLED screen used in the device gives justice to its design. Texts are crisp and photos are vibrant making consuming content on it delightful.
Located at the back of the phone are the fingerprint scanner and the dual camera set up. It's made of ceramic which makes it a bit of a smudge magnet. It does make it look and feel premium though so the trade-off is worth it. It also makes any of the four colour options look a lot better.
All of this makes the phone one of the most beautiful in the market.
Beastly Spec Sheet
Like most of this year's flagships, the Mi Mix 3 ships with a highly capable Snapdragon 845 processor. Which is a good thing even if it's at the tail end of its life cycle because it's still pretty powerful by today's standards.
Whether you opt for the lowest or the top end, the Mi Mix 3 has a lot to offer power users. Options begin at 6 GB RAM and top out at 10 GB. Multitasking, therefore, should be a cinch for this flagship.
It also has storage capacities that would make a power user smile. At a 128 GB and 256 GB maxed out storage options, you can store a lot of high definition media files that would take full advantage of the beautiful screen. The only caveat here is that there's no expandable storage option so you're stuck with what you initially pick. It also allows you to store a lot of photos and videos. You're definitely going to want to because it hasa excellent rear-facing cameras that you'd want to use for all of your tasks that require a camera.
But, one big gripe that consumers might have on this phone is that it's not equipped with a massive battery. The 3200 mAh is middling at best. For heavy users, this might not be enough.
4 Shooters That Give Justice to the Display
So we have an immersive screen with a great AMOLED display. Content consumption is top notch because of it. But, what about content creation?
Good news on this end as well.
The rear-facing dual 12-megapixel cameras are rated highly by the DxOMark topped only by phones that costs almost twice as much. They're capable of excellent portrait photos. And since the secondary sensor is a telephoto lens, it's also capable of zooming onto subjects from far away without losing image quality.
As for the front cameras that they worked so hard to hide behind the slider, they put in a 24-megapixel sensor that shoots amazing selfies. It's helped by a 2-megapixel depth sensor lens that aids your portrait selfies.
The Snapdragon 845 also comes through for the camera by equipping it with some processing trickery. The combination of the chipset and camera sensors make it capable of 960 fps super slow motion and video bokeh. Night mode is also a result of this excellent camera and chipset combo.
All of these, when shown through the absolutely stunning screen, should be a lot of fun.
Ports and Peripherals
There are aspects of the Mi Mix 3 that can't be grouped in the same categories that other smartphones are described.
One such part of it is the inclusion of a wireless charger in the box. It's an unheard of feature that no other smartphone manufacturer that I've heard of has ever done. It's a great touch especially in a world where manufacturers are starting to omit some peripherals such as earphones and dongles. To add to that, Xiaomi also packs a Quickcharge 4 charger in the box. You can plug that into the USB-C port at its usual position at the bottom of the device.
It's worth that this goes with the no-headphone-jack-trend. But, they still include a dongle just in case you're attached to your wired earphones.
Round-Up
The Mi Mix line has always been a stunner. This one is no different. The all screen implementation is incredible. It's so immersive and fun to use which makes it a content consumption champ. The slider design is a bold step especially in a smartphone landscape contented to copy the leader with notched designs. If other manufacturers follow them in this path, Xiaomi can establish its place as an elite in the smartphone business.
When it comes to accomplishing some work and creating content, it can also hold its own against other flagships. The excellent cameras combined with the processor work perfectly together. On this front, it's only held back by a middling battery. But, even that is slightly remedied by the inclusion of a wireless charger and a Quickcharge 4-capable power brick in the box.
The result is a great combination of features that have a certain synergy to it. All in all, it's a great all-around phone that most people would be happy to use as their daily driver.
But, some brave smartphone companies have found a way to finally defeat the bezels. Xiaomi is one of them. In a world of notched phones, the bezel-less Mi Mix 3 is a breath of fresh air. It's one of the first completely bezel-less smartphones ever.
This flagship from the Chinese giant achieves this feat through a curveball of a design change. It uses a mechanical slider design to house the selfie cameras. With the slider, the entire front screen that's devoid of anything but the display slides down to expose the cameras. It seems sturdy enough to last a few years and it has a satisfying click that locks it firmly in place when you use it.
It's a Beauty to Behold
There's a small cut out for an earpiece but other than that, the front is almost completely all-display. The 6.39" AMOLED screen used in the device gives justice to its design. Texts are crisp and photos are vibrant making consuming content on it delightful.
Located at the back of the phone are the fingerprint scanner and the dual camera set up. It's made of ceramic which makes it a bit of a smudge magnet. It does make it look and feel premium though so the trade-off is worth it. It also makes any of the four colour options look a lot better.
All of this makes the phone one of the most beautiful in the market.
Beastly Spec Sheet
Like most of this year's flagships, the Mi Mix 3 ships with a highly capable Snapdragon 845 processor. Which is a good thing even if it's at the tail end of its life cycle because it's still pretty powerful by today's standards.
Whether you opt for the lowest or the top end, the Mi Mix 3 has a lot to offer power users. Options begin at 6 GB RAM and top out at 10 GB. Multitasking, therefore, should be a cinch for this flagship.
It also has storage capacities that would make a power user smile. At a 128 GB and 256 GB maxed out storage options, you can store a lot of high definition media files that would take full advantage of the beautiful screen. The only caveat here is that there's no expandable storage option so you're stuck with what you initially pick. It also allows you to store a lot of photos and videos. You're definitely going to want to because it hasa excellent rear-facing cameras that you'd want to use for all of your tasks that require a camera.
But, one big gripe that consumers might have on this phone is that it's not equipped with a massive battery. The 3200 mAh is middling at best. For heavy users, this might not be enough.
4 Shooters That Give Justice to the Display
So we have an immersive screen with a great AMOLED display. Content consumption is top notch because of it. But, what about content creation?
Good news on this end as well.
The rear-facing dual 12-megapixel cameras are rated highly by the DxOMark topped only by phones that costs almost twice as much. They're capable of excellent portrait photos. And since the secondary sensor is a telephoto lens, it's also capable of zooming onto subjects from far away without losing image quality.
As for the front cameras that they worked so hard to hide behind the slider, they put in a 24-megapixel sensor that shoots amazing selfies. It's helped by a 2-megapixel depth sensor lens that aids your portrait selfies.
The Snapdragon 845 also comes through for the camera by equipping it with some processing trickery. The combination of the chipset and camera sensors make it capable of 960 fps super slow motion and video bokeh. Night mode is also a result of this excellent camera and chipset combo.
All of these, when shown through the absolutely stunning screen, should be a lot of fun.
Ports and Peripherals
There are aspects of the Mi Mix 3 that can't be grouped in the same categories that other smartphones are described.
One such part of it is the inclusion of a wireless charger in the box. It's an unheard of feature that no other smartphone manufacturer that I've heard of has ever done. It's a great touch especially in a world where manufacturers are starting to omit some peripherals such as earphones and dongles. To add to that, Xiaomi also packs a Quickcharge 4 charger in the box. You can plug that into the USB-C port at its usual position at the bottom of the device.
It's worth that this goes with the no-headphone-jack-trend. But, they still include a dongle just in case you're attached to your wired earphones.
Round-Up
The Mi Mix line has always been a stunner. This one is no different. The all screen implementation is incredible. It's so immersive and fun to use which makes it a content consumption champ. The slider design is a bold step especially in a smartphone landscape contented to copy the leader with notched designs. If other manufacturers follow them in this path, Xiaomi can establish its place as an elite in the smartphone business.
When it comes to accomplishing some work and creating content, it can also hold its own against other flagships. The excellent cameras combined with the processor work perfectly together. On this front, it's only held back by a middling battery. But, even that is slightly remedied by the inclusion of a wireless charger and a Quickcharge 4-capable power brick in the box.
The result is a great combination of features that have a certain synergy to it. All in all, it's a great all-around phone that most people would be happy to use as their daily driver.