Verdict
The Xiaomi Combine Flip is a strong first effort on this flip cellphone class. It bests its direct rivals on charging velocity and battery capability. There are some points to handle in future generations, thoughts. The entrance display feels awkward to unlock generally use, there’s no water or mud resistance, and the numerous thermal throttling means the potential of the high-end processor goes to waste considerably.
Execs
Stable zoom cameraSmart video options for content material creatorsDecent battery life and charging for a flip cellphone
Cons
No water resistanceInconsistent photograph high quality/processingExhibits vital thermal throttlingFront display is awkward to make use of
Flip designThe cellphone has a 4-inch display on its entrance, a bigger 6.78-inch show inside. Each are OLED and the bigger one is right for media gorging.
2x zoom digicamThere’s no extremely broad digicam right here, however you do get a usually extra expensive-to-implement zoom, with a “native” 2x view.
67W chargingThe battery stands out amongst its flip friends, because of its bigger 4780mAh capability and better 67W charging.
Introduction
Xiaomi isn’t any stranger to foldables. It has made them since 2021. The unique Xiaomi Mi Combine Fold was the primary. However the Combine Flip is Xiaomi’s first flip cellphone.
It’s within the ring with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Motorola Razr 50 Extremely, which is a part of the lineage that made the flip cellphone “cool” within the 2000s.
Can it compete? Xiaomi has not made this cellphone cheaper to take action. At £1099, it prices rather a lot.
It additionally lacks the ruggesidation of the competitors, which is a fear in an already-vulnerable foldable. And its show crease does, anecdotally, seem to have worsened noticeably in simply the primary few weeks of use.
Nonetheless, the Combine Flip does have the quickest battery charging and highest battery capability of this crowd, which can effectively attraction should you’re right here for the comfort of a flip foldable, not only a trend assertion.
Design
Twin display with flip foldNoticeable show creasePoor entrance display management ergonomics
The Xiaomi Combine Flip has a design just like that of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, however its interior display is a bit bigger.
What’s to not like with that, if you’d like a Motorola Razr-style flip cellphone? The important thing problem is the Xiaomi Combine Flip is a first-generation cellphone of this fashion for Xiaomi. And you may inform in a key space or two.
First up, the Xiaomi Combine Flip doesn’t have any formal water or mud resistance. Samsung has managed to get the Galaxy Z Flip 6 up to the mark with wonderful water resistance, if solely minimal mud safety because of the realities of the display hinge.
The Xiaomi Combine Flip additionally has a reasonably outstanding display hinge fold line, from day one. I took the cellphone out for a weekend away with some much less techy mates, and their response was nearly universally “wow, have a look at that crease.”
It does seem to have deepened a little bit after the primary few weeks of use. And I do discover it distracting at any time when I’m in a spot with harsh lighting. The Combine Flip crease attracts distracting reflections far more than a cellphone with a curved glass entrance. At instances I’ve even observed the variance in brightness across the crease generally use, attributable to OLED panel showing barely dimmer when considered from an angle.
For those who contemplate this crease to be an issue in foldables, it’s one that continues to be unfixed.
I’m not significantly effectively certified to speak on what I believe is essentially the most urgent problem right here: how resilient is the Xiaomi Combine Flip over the lengthy haul? To date I’ve seemingly brought on no harm to the plastic-topped interior display, regardless of having — on a bunch of events — put it into my pocket unfolded. However that is one that can take months of use of examine.
The metal hinge feels pretty robust, and the cellphone’s outer makes use of Xiaomi’s personal Dragon Crystal Glass. Xiaomi claims these things is stronger than the Gorilla Glass various. In fact it does. However I’ve managed to place a few micro-scratches within the glass black already.
Display
6.86-inch foldable screen4.01-inch cowl display
This cellphone has a 6.86-inch OLED inside, and a roughly 4-inch OLED on the higher half of the rear. The again display seems improbable, because of its excessive pixel depend, the way in which the panel weaves its approach across the cameras.
I’ve largely opened the Xiaomi Combine Flip up at any time when I exploit the cellphone, although, because the outer display’s talents are fairly restricted and the ergonomics of waking up the show when closed are poor. You press the ability button to take action, and my thumb at all times finally ends up looking awkwardly for it.
Need the very important statistics?
The interior display can attain 515 nits in regular situations, 912 nits when displaying HDR content material. There have been comparable outcomes on the entrance show. Xiaomi claims the shows can attain 3000 nits, nevertheless it’s a reasonably pointless declare should you’re by no means going to see something like that brightness in regular use.
The primary interior display is interrupted by a punch gap, nevertheless it’s so broad (or lengthy) you possibly can watch 16:9 content material with out the opening getting in the way in which. It’s the distorted reflections it is advisable to fear about, not the punch gap.
Stable stereo audio system assist out for content-viewing too. They’re pretty loud, have some lower-frequency beefiness, and so they push sound out of both finish of the Combine Flip.
Cameras
No ultra-wide cameraGood daylight photos in generalImage high quality inconsistent, and mid-tier, at night time
The Xiaomi Combine Flip has three cameras. There are two on the again, a regular cam and a 2x zoom, and a selfie digicam inside.
I’ve seen some reviewers complain the interior digicam is a bit pointless. Nevertheless it clearly isn’t should you’re a fan of video chat.
The lacking aspect on the rear is an ultra-wide digicam. I personally a lot choose having a zoom to an ultrawide, as a result of I discover it opens up far more capturing alternatives. Most of us don’t spend that a lot time wandering across the Acropolis, or one other place the place such a large view turns into near-essential. I’ve solely missed having one a number of instances in the previous couple of weeks.
This can be a largely enjoyable digicam to make use of, however there are some notable points.
I discover it is rather simple to take blurry photos with the Xiaomi Combine Flip in decrease gentle situations. This means the computational images mode, which takes a second to a number of seconds to take a picture, isn’t that effectively carried out. This cellphone does have optical picture stabilisation, in spite of everything. Photographs needs to be extra constant.
Very darkish scenes don’t lead to top-tier photographs both. Whereas the the Combine Flip does have strong low gentle processing, there’s nonetheless an inclination for textures to revert to oatmeal/porridge.
The color dealing with can go a bit off piste when coping with a scene that calls for additional dynamic vary processing or low gentle mitigation too. And sharpness on the sides and corners of the body isn’t nice, demonstrating how a lot worth there may be in having a Leica-branded lens — as seen right here (not a complete heap of worth, should you’re nonetheless questioning).
None of that is vastly shocking while you have a look at the sensors use, which recommend the price range for digicam stuff was at the very least considerably restrained. That is an all-Omnivision line-up: an OVX8000 for the principle digicam, OV32B for the entrance digicam and a OV60A40 for the zoom. Yep, the zoom truly makes use of a 60MP sensor, however (I presume) crops it to be able to scale back the magnification required within the precise digicam lens. Cheeky, however a way I’ve seen earlier than.
Let’s not be too down on the Combine Flip digicam, although. It could take pretty photographs within the daytime, and I’m very happy with how 4x zoomed photographs maintain up. The app helps you to zoom as much as 20x, however the presets are 1x, 2x and 4x. It’s a sign of the modes to make use of with out ending up with garbage photographs.
The cellphone will revert to utilizing the first digicam for 2x zoomed photographs in lesser gentle, so you will note fairly a variance intimately and character when pushing that zoom mode.
The Combine Flip’s video modes have fairly a number of attention-grabbing little options, matching its identification as a extra vlogger-friendly design. You possibly can, after all, use the rear display to assist seize rear digicam selfies and vlogs.
There’s a teleprompter mode that permits you to import paperwork to learn whereas capturing. And there may be, after all, management over the velocity of the textual content’s scrolling.
The Combine Flip can shoot video at as much as 8K 30fps, or 4K 60fps, and all these modes have some type of stabilisation, because of OIS (optical picture stabilisation). There’s a Grasp Cinema mode too, which has a calmly totally different, usually, hotter, color tone. And its focus seems to be on retaining highlights with out focusing fairly a lot on making the picture seem brilliant, permitting for enhancing the place it could really feel much less such as you’re preventing with the cellphone’s personal processing.
These are all examples of tertiary options that don’t really feel like ineffective bloat. Good work, Xiaomi.
Software program
Customized interface for the entrance screenFamiliar Xiaomi tackle Android 14Front display solely helps choose apps
For essentially the most half, the Xiaomi Combine Flip’s software program seems and feels very similar to that of one other Xiaomi cellphone.
It’s based mostly on Android 14. You possibly can select whether or not or to not have an app drawer. And, the half I at all times discover annoying, the drop-down menu that permits you to entry function toggles and your notifications is break up in half. You swipe down on the left facet for notifications, on the proper for function toggles.
Crucial half right here is how the entrance display is carried out. Unlock the Combine Flip when closed and also you’ll see a kind of mini dwelling display of kinds.
Xiaomi says 200 apps are supported by the entrance display. And as an alternative of simply cramming in each appropriate one, the Combine Flip asks you to choose the apps right here within the Settings menu.
In addition to apparent Xiaomi picks just like the digicam and cellphone, different ones that work embrace Spotify, Chrome, Fb, WhatsApp and TikTok. This can be a far more accountable strategy than simply letting you have got a crack at something.
I don’t love utilizing any app on the entrance display, to be sincere, because the Combine Flip feels an unlucky mixture of chunky and cramped. And as talked about earlier, truly waking up the entrance display in actual use is an ergonomics automobile crash.
However as an implementation of a tough factor? It’s not unhealthy in any respect.
Xiaomi additionally says the Combine Flip is to get Circle to Search, Google’s good search function. Nevertheless it’s not reside in my evaluate cellphone proper now.
Efficiency
Has an important processorFailed our stress testsStill good for gaming
The Xiaomi Combine Flip has a wonderful processor, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. This can be a flagship processor first introduced in late 2023, and was among the many strongest cell processors obtainable on the time of the cellphone’s launch.
It’s punchy. However this isn’t one of the best utility of it in follow.
In addition to utilizing vital thermal throttling, it failed 3DMark’s Time Spy stress check. This implies it was unable to push arduous for 20 minutes with out overheating to the purpose the app was compelled to shut down. Not best.
I attempted one other stress check app, which instructed it retains simply 45% of its efficiency beneath stress. Whereas GPU energy simply take a dive after a few minutes, the CPU appears to repeatedly get weaker as the warmth builds up, ending up in a dismal state.
It could’t be simple to make a foldable flip cellphone that performs in addition to a regular candybar one. Nevertheless it does make you marvel if the cash you pay for these high specs is well-spent.
I did strive enjoying Fortnite, although, and it ran effectively. The upper tiers of body charge and graphics choices had been unlocked too.
Battery life
Fees in round 50 minutesComfortable all-day battery lifeUp to 67W charging
The Xiaomi Combine Flip has the most important battery to date on this fllippy class. It’s a 4780mAh cell, only a shade beneath what I contemplate to be the comfy minimal for many Android telephones.
This cellphone has excellent stamina for a flip cellphone, and completely strong longevity extra usually. I haven’t needed to fear about it dying early generally use. And whereas I’ve managed to empty it all the way down to nothing by the late night on a number of events, it sometimes finally ends up with round 15-20% cost left on the finish of a mean day.
It helps 67W charging, though the best I recorded utilizing an influence meter was 62W, and it spent nearly no time there earlier than dropping to round 50W — and dropping additional by way of the cost cycle, as is fairly regular.
The Combine Flip reaches 50% cost in a strong 19 minutes, and 100% cost at 50 minutes. It takes a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 upwards of 90 minutes to cost. That is, but once more, an important outcome for a flip cellphone.
There’s no wi-fi charging right here, although, which you do get within the Z Flip 6.
Newest offers
Do you have to purchase it?
Purchase if you’d like a decrease upkeep flip cellphone
Greater battery capability and quicker charging velocity than others on this class make the Combine Flip much less excessive upkeep than some.
Don’t purchase in case you are squeamish about foldable tech
The Combine Flip has no official water or mud resistance, taking us again to the early days of those super-high-price telephones while you had been left questioning how lengthy they’d final beneath your care.
Closing Ideas
The Xiaomi Combine Flip is a strong first flip cellphone from Xiaomi. Essentially the most notable highlights are discovered within the battery. It lasts longer than most on this class, and prices quicker too.
There’s a sense Xiaomi maybe hasn’t fairly bought to grips with all of the challenges of the flippy foldable format, although. There’s no water or mud resistance, compounding issues in regards to the elementary fragile nature of the interior display. And the cellphone suffers from each overheating and vital thermal throttling.
You must make peace with the display crease too. Past these points, although, the Xiaomi Combine Flip is a reliable flip cellphone that makes some considerate concessions to its format.
How we check
We check each cell phone we evaluate totally. We use industry-standard assessments to match options correctly and we use the cellphone as our fundamental gadget over the evaluate interval. We’ll at all times let you know what we discover and we by no means, ever, settle for cash to evaluate a product.
Discover out extra about how we check in our ethics coverage.
Used as a fundamental cellphone for over per week
Thorough digicam testing in a wide range of situations
Examined and benchmarked utilizing revered {industry} assessments and real-world information
FAQs
It has no official water or mud resistance.
The cellphone helps cables charing solely, at as much as 67W.
It has a strong processor, however the questionable thermals imply it’s not fairly as highly effective as some after some time.
Trusted Evaluations check information
Geekbench 6 single core
Geekbench 6 multi core
Max brightness
1 hour video playback (Netflix, HDR)
Time from 0-100% cost
Time from 0-50% cost
30-min recharge (included charger)
15-min recharge (included charger)
3D Mark – Wild Life
›
UK RRP
USA RRP
Producer
Display Dimension
Storage Capability
Rear Digital camera
Entrance Digital camera
Video Recording
IP score
Battery
Quick Charging
Dimension (Dimensions)
Weight
Working System
Launch Date
First Reviewed Date
Decision
HDR
Refresh Fee
Ports
Chipset
RAM
Colors
Acknowledged Energy
›