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Forget about the notch, it’s all about the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 with a slide-up selfie camera

Xiaomi
Xiaomi

Chinese tech company Xiaomi landed in the UK in November and it's already making its mark on the smartphone scene.

Next up in its launch pipeline is the Mi Mix 3. It’s a full-screen device, with a 6.39 AMOLED display in full HD+, almost zero bezels and no notch to be seen.

How can they pull this off? This is because instead of a notch to house the selfie camera on the front of the phone, the back slides up to reveal to the dual-front cameras, complete with a satisfying click.

Xiaomi has form in this area, releasing the first full-screen smartphone back in 2016 with the first Mi Mix, way before Apple ditched the thick bezels in favour of a notch with the iPhone X.

The Mi Mix 3‘s full-screen slider is made possible through the use of magnets. It uses a magnetic form to complete the open and closing actions and has been tested for durability, so it should last for over 300,000 cycles.

As well as sliding up to reveal the cameras and take selfies, you can also customise the slide function to reveal the shortcuts drawer, or slide to instantly access apps, with different sound effects too.

The dual-front camera set-up is a 24-megapixel primary camera with a 2-megapixel second camera, fitted with AI software for scene detection, studio lighting and that beloved portrait bokeh effect.

The rear camera has the same set up as the Mi 8 Pro, with two 12-megapixels cameras, one wide-angle and one telephoto lens, but Xiaomi has improved the software for these so the camera should perform better than on the Mi 8 Pro.

Inside, the phone is powered by Snapdragon’s 845 processor, which means this phone isn’t going to be supporting 5G networks just yet. It will have 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage. There’s a new AI button for quick access to the Google Assistant and it will be available in two colours: Onyx black and Sapphire blue.

Thanks to that glass black, the Mi Mix 3 supports wireless charging. Xiaomi has improved on its previous wireless chargers, so the charger included with the phone is up to 30 per cent more powerful than the older variant. The Mi Mix 3 comes with a wireless charger in the box so you don’t need to fork out for the accessory.

Keen Xiaomi enthusiasts will note that this phone was unveiled in China in October, with a special Forbidden City variant with a whopping 10GB of RAM. For those in the UK however, you still need to wait a little longer to get your hands on the device, as Xiaomi says it will be available in “early Q1 next year.”

Pricing hasn’t yet been confirmed for the UK release but we’re expecting it to be a little more expensive than the Mi 8 Pro, which retails at £499. However, in keeping with Xiaomi's promise to deliver affordable innovation for everyone, the Mi Mix 3 will still be priced in the mid-range to make it a stylish, and affordable, alternative to the likes of the iPhone XS and Huawei Mate 20 Pro.