After a year, we finally waited for Xiaomi's third-generation folding screen - MIXFold3.
Remember how we reviewed MIXFold2 last year?
"Xiaomi MIXFold2 is a foldable screen phone, and the choice is extremely obvious."
That's right.
Based on the ultra-thin body of "unfolded 5.4mm and folded 11.2mm", MIXFold2 rushed into the thin and light era of the inner folding model, making the inner folding model close to the straight mobile phone in terms of feel. For the first time.
But it's a little regrettable that in order to achieve the ultimate thinness, MIXFold2 has compromised in configuration, such as the lack of wireless charging that Miró likes very much...
That's why we were looking forward to MIXFold3 at the time:
"I wonder if MIXFold3 will become the first 'need, want, want' folding screen flagship?"
And this time, MIXFold3 really knows Tony too well.
There is no secret, let's start with the conclusion:
Tony felt that the machine performed exactly as we expected.
On the basis of the previous generation of thinness, equipped with a larger battery, better Leica quad camera, wireless charging, etc., it can be said that high-end flagships should have them.
But before talking about how multifunctional the experience is, Tony wants to show how it can balance a light experience without lacking.
Because the experience of thinness and all-round was once the "fish and bear's paw" problem of folding screens - to be thin and light, you must make trade-offs, and even sacrifice experience.
How to achieve the folding screen "I want" is a problem that has plagued the industry.
Where is the difficulty?
The difficulties lie in technology, craftsmanship and innovation.
So how does Xiaomi MIXFold3 solve this problem?
Then, let's discuss everything starting with the most important.
As we all know, compared with the tie rod machine, the folding screen has an intermediate linkage structure hinge. If you want to be thin and light, don't bypass this critical component.
By simply making the hinge thinner and smaller, more interior space can be freed up to accommodate more components.
That's right, that's what Xiaomi did this time. They designed a new self-developed "heat sink" for MIXFold3.
According to Xiaomi, compared with the previous generation of miniature water drop hinges, the thickness of the keel hinge is reduced from 3.0mm to 2.7mm in the unfolded state, and from 8.8mm to 7.7mm in the folded state, and the width is also reduced by 8%. The interior space was further freed up by 17%.
Good guy, Xiaomi "steals" space with technology.
But speaking of which, Tony thought of another question:
Thinner hinges mean less room for "water droplets". After the bending radius of the inner screen UTG glass is small, it is more likely to produce stress concentration, resulting in deeper screen creases and shortening folding time. So how does Xiaomi do pressure distribution?
For this question, some friends may not understand it at first.
You can take a piece of paper, try to bend it from the middle, make the bent place into a droplet shape with your hand, and then you will find that as the shape of the droplet gets smaller and smaller, the traces of bending appear. The content of the paper will become more and more obvious.
Well... The example may not be particularly accurate, but that's basically what it means.
In order to understand how Xiaomi solved it, Tony also specifically asked Xiaomi's engineering friends.
To put it simply, a very interesting improvement in the cooling shaft structure this time is that the traditional two-stage connecting rod is replaced by a three-link design.
Compared with the 8 movable joints of the para-joint, the three-joint design has up to 14 movable joints, which can better fit the screen.
Like a pair of hands, it holds the screen well when unfolded and folded.
Under the premise of a better fit, the keel shaft allows for finer control of the shape of the water droplets.
At the same time, Xiaomi also used simulation models to find the most natural and comfortable one from more than 600 water drop shapes.
A set of combined punches can better avoid stress concentration when the screen is bent, resulting in improved crease control performance and longer folding times.
This is one of the reasons why Xiaomi dares to say that "even after 200,000 bends, the crease change is controlled at only 10 μm".
But do you think these are the benefits of keel dragon heads?
No, the reliability of the cooling shaft has also been greatly improved this time.
On the one hand, the multi-link design can better protect the screen.
Similar to the traditional two-stage linkage design, the contact between the inner screen and the connecting rod is "line contact", which is equivalent to "clamping" the inner screen with two connecting rod components.
When the phone falls, because the contact area between the inner screen and the hinge is a "line", under the action of impact, the inner screen will be deformed to both sides of the "line". Over time, damage can occur in the contact area.
The contact between the multi-link design and the inner screen is "face contact". It fits more closely to the screen, which is equivalent to wrapping the curved area of the screen. Better distribution by wheels.
Whether it should be said or not, Xiaomi's idea is quite amazing.
On the other hand, it increases the strength and wear resistance of the axles. The cooling shaft bearing structure is made of super steel with yield strength up to 1800Mpa, and the rotating structure is made of carbon ceramic steel, which has four times the wear resistance of the previous one.
This high strength + high wear resistant material solution is reflected in daily use, significantly increasing folding time.
So Xiaomi also said that this time MIXFold3 has passed Rheinland 500,000 worry-free certification.
In conclusion, I think Xiaomi's heat dissipation hinge this time is a very mature solution. Its solution ideas and technical paths may reflect Xiaomi's thinking about the hinge, the "most soulful part of the folding screen".
Of course, Rome was not built in a day.
Xiaomi's ability to come up with today's mature hinge solution must have gone through a lot of technology accumulation in the early days.
In fact, since the Snapdragon 845 era, Xiaomi has begun to develop its own hinge, and as the research and development deepens, the iterative scheme is constantly evolving.
(Illustration) Slide rail hinge of Xiaomi folding screen machine in the Snapdragon 845 era, source: NonxCirno
This is also the reason why Xiaomi attaches great importance to self-developed hinges.
In terms of reliability, in addition to the keel shaft, Xiaomi has a "super dual".
The "dragon scale fiber" version in my hand, although the surface of the back cover looks like ordinary aramid fiber, there are actually many items inside.
In fact, this is a composite laminate material made of aramid fiber and ceramic fiber by high temperature and high pressure.
The advantage of this material is that it has both the toughness and puncture resistance of aramid fiber, and the high strength and impact resistance of ceramic fiber, corresponding to the strong combination of the two materials, which can further improve the strength.
This time I thought of the Xiaomi MIXFold3 commercial: stronger than stronger.
And not only is it more reliable, but the image performance this time is also stronger.
As we all know, due to the limited space inside the foldable screen, it is impossible to stack images like a straight board flagship. As a result, the image performance of many folding screens in the past only reached the level of the standard version of 4,000 yuan.
"I spent almost 10,000 yuan to buy a folding screen, and the photo ability is almost the same as the flagship standard version..."
This time, Xiaomi crammed the full-focal Leica quad camera into an extremely limited space, so the MIXFold3's photo level can be comparable to the flagship on the right.
How is this possible?
Simply put, Xiaomi once again used technology to interpret "space magic".
First of all, Xiaomi uses stacking technology to reduce the area of the motherboard and "steal" more space for the camera module.
Secondly, start with the overall thinning and height reduction of the camera module.
The lenses of all four cameras are aspherical lenses. Compared to spherical lenses, aspherical lenses can be designed with a more free optical path, which reduces the height of the lens.
At the same time, the addition of highly transparent glass lenses also provides a higher refractive index, which can further reduce the thickness of the lens.
But this is not enough, because the image stabilization engine used in the lens is also thick, so optical image stabilization cannot be cut off...
Xiaomi's method is to replace the traditional ball motor with an SMA hanging wire motor. Compared with ball motors, SMA motors save magnetic bases and can reduce the overall thickness of the module.
In addition, Xiaomi has lowered the motherboard of the main camera, further reducing the height of the module.
I compared the MIXFold3 with the previous generation and found that the camera module was not much higher with a significant increase in image.
Thanks to the addition of Leica four cameras, the focal length coverage of the machine is also larger, which can meet the shooting needs of more scenes.
For example, this time I really like the 75mm portrait lens and the 115mm periscope telephoto lens. The 75mm is great for shooting people and objects, while the 115mm gives me more freedom in framing and composition.
In addition, it has to be said that the "Leica flavor" of MIXFold3 is as rich as 13Ultra, with strong color expression and strong chiaroscuro, which is indeed a wonderful choice for shooting sunsets or plant landscapes.
I really like this color!
After talking about the above, let's talk about a little more daily feelings.
In terms of battery life, MIXFold3 adopts a new generation of silicon-carbon anode technology Xiaomi Peng brand battery, with a capacity of 4800mAh under the condition of unchanged volume.
The simultaneous use of two G1 power management chips can further improve power efficiency.
The addition of P2 fast charging chip also makes the charging process more stable and safe.
Speaking of charging, I want to mention more. This time, MIXFold3 supports 67W wired fast charging and 50W wireless fast charging. This is definitely a plus for those who only need wireless charging.
In addition to battery and power management, the ultra-low-power Pol-LessPlus screen technology and the LTPO adaptive refresh rate technology of the inner screen can also reduce some power consumption, thereby achieving energy saving effects.
Judging from the 3-hour battery life test results, even in the case of a pure inner screen, the battery life of MIXFold3 is also at the upper middle level in straight mobile phones, and there is no problem with normal use for one day.
In terms of performance, how powerful the Snapdragon 8th generation 2 advanced version is, everyone should know without me saying more.
Because Tony has a non-commercial version, I can't run test software such as 3DMark and perfdog, so I can only run an entertainment rabbit (not yet online) to give you a reference.
In terms of screen, the inner and outer screens are made of E6 material, and both support a high refresh rate of 120Hz. Whether it's brightness, finesse, or flow, there's no problem.
As for large-screen customization, Xiaomi has also worked hard this time.
The small window function, which was already very easy to use, has also been optimized this time, adding some active guidance functions, so that everyone can make more use of the small window and experience the immersive experience brought by the large screen.
In addition, the real-time translation function that supports the same screen display is also very practical. I heard that Xiaomi said that this function is a translation technology based on large AI models.
I found that this function, combined with the hover mode, can realize the first half of the English speech playback, and the second half of the real-time translation, which is quite convenient to experience.
Other aspects, such as three-dimensional double elevator and X-axis motor, MIXFold3 also have it this time.
Finally, Tony believes that this time MIXFold3 has a significant improvement in functionality after balancing the thin and light and comprehensive flagship experience.
Since the emergence of folding screens, manufacturers have struggled with an ultimate problem, that is, practicality.
"Fashionable", "expensive toys", "fragile and beautiful" are many people's views on folding screens before.
However, as manufacturers gradually improve the experience of folding screens, the public's recognition of folding screens is getting higher and higher, and increasing sales are the best proof.
It is undeniable that Xiaomi has a lot of credit for this. From the previous thin and light MIXFold2 to this "thin + all-round" MIXFold3, Xiaomi tells everyone with products that the foldable screen has officially entered the second half.
There is no doubt that folding screens have passed the stage of striving for thinness. Constantly meeting everyone's needs for practical functions is the right direction for foldable displays.
Speaking of which, I'm already looking forward to the next generation of MIXFold4.
Image and data source:
Xiaomi, Sandalwood, B Station @NonxCirno, Xiaobai Review