The Notch-Free Mi Mix 3 Is Both Competent And Gorgeous

The year 2018 seemed to be dedicated to finding a way to hide or better yet, remove the notch entirely. Various methods were introduced including Vivo with its pop-up selfie camera, Oppo with slide-out cameras, and Xiaomi with its sliders. Among them, The Mi Mix 3 from Xiaomi is arguably the best to date.

The Mi Mix 3 is the best no notch smartphone to date

The Mi Mix 3 boasts a beautiful appearance and its camera is awe-inspiring. However, that is not to say that it is without some significant downers, especially with its battery and software.

Specifications of the Mi Mix 3

I’ve been using the 8GB+128GB variant for the review.

The Advantages

The Mi Mix 3 is appealing to the eye, especially in its blue color. The ceramic back and the 7,000-grade Aluminum physical frame make the phone super durable, but at the same time, it can slip out of your hand if you are not careful.  A good solution to holding the phone more firmly is to fit a case on.

It can be slippery 

A notch-free screen means that you have more space for whatever you want to display.

And now we have the slider, an improvement to hide the selfie notch. Function aside, this mechanism feels satisfying to the touch, and Xiaomi said that it could handle up to 300,000 sliding times.

Another selling point of the Mi Mix 3 is its camera set. It does not take long for the primary sensor to focus so you can relatively take more pictures in the same amount of time. The white balance is also competent so your photos will be packed with details. The phone comes with a camera app that can even cater to more experienced photographers.

The phone’s AI can recognize objects like cars, houses, and flowers and highlight them without being excessively saturated.

The Mi Mix 3 is equipped with a night mode to handle the overexposure issue that has led to photos showing visible grains of emulsion.

One significant downer is the Mi Mix 3’s lack of depth in portrait pictures. However, you can still count on its separation of people and background, a feature that can rival the equivalent of other more advanced models.

The Downsides

Mi Mix 3’s battery can hardly last to the next day, which is a shortcoming. However, you still have the option of charging with wire or wireless as both enable fast charging.

While the phone can produce excellent pictures, the same thing cannot be said about its sound. The speakers are of lower quality than that of the Pixel 3 XL and the iPhone XS. And when you turn the phone to landscape mode, you can easily block it with your hand.

Xiaomi has done an excellent job enhancing its MIUI, but it is still behind OnePlus’ OxygenOS when it comes to consistency and speed. An app drawer is nowhere to be found.

The MIUI is not on par with OxygenOS

For those who are a creature of habit and rely on it to access apps, Mi Mix 3’s grid layout can be a real nuisance. The location and the size of apps can be changed without you knowing it so you may tap on the wrong one if you are not careful.

Who’s it for?

Those who find themselves in love with the OnePlus 6T may find the Mi Mix 3 a decent replacement. The appearance of the phone can catch your eyes, and you can produce great pictures with it. If you can overlook the operating system’s issues, this phone makes an excellent choice.