Xiaomi has officially unveiled its third-generation folding phone, the Mix Fold 3, and it’s one of the thinnest foldable phones on the market, just marginally thicker than the reigning champ, the Honor Magic V2.

But, before you get too excited, it has only launched in China, and it appears that is where it’s destined to stay.

Despite that disappointing fact, the phone is so impressive that it demands a closer look, so let’s find out what the latest foldable has to offer.

The Mix Fold 3 has a similar form factor to the Mix Fold 2, which means a full-width outer display that’s much more comfortable to use than the narrow outer screen on the Galaxy Z Fold 5. This time around, it’s just 5.26mm thick unfolded, and 10.96mm folded – over 3mm slimmer than the market-leading Samsung foldable.

This is thanks to a redesigned vertically stacked motherboard and a brand-new proprietary hinge system. This new hinge takes up 17 per cent less internal space while retaining “flex mode” positioning between 45 and 135-degree angles.

It’s rated to survive 500,000 folds, which is 100,000 more than the Honor Magic V2, and a whopping 300,000 more than Samsung and Google’s latest offerings. However, no IP rating was mentioned during the unveiling, so there are other factors to consider when it comes to durability.

It’s powered by an overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, just like the speedy RedMagic 8S Pro that we reviewed recently. And that’s paired with up to 16GB of RAM, so it’s likely to be a bit of a speed demon, while excellent efficiency aids in the battery life.

Speaking of the battery, it’s been upped to 4,800 mAh with 67W wired charging and 50W wireless fast charging. Really impressive stuff, considering how many foldables forego wireless charging entirely.

The phone uses dual E6 OLED panels, the interior folding display measures in at 8.03-inches and has a 1960×2160 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. On the outside, you get a 6.56-inch OLED with a Gorilla Glass Victus coating and an eye-melting 2,560 nits of peak brightness.

As we mentioned, there’s a quad-camera array on the rear that comes complete with Leica tuning for all your photographic needs. The main camera is a 50MP Sony IMX800 with a 23mm equivalent focal length, f/1.7 aperture and OIS. It’s joined by a 15mm 12MP ultra-wide, a 75mm 10MP telephoto and a 115mm 10MP periscope lens.

The pre-orders open today in China, with units shipping on August 16. As for the rest of the world, time will tell, but since the previous models have failed to make their way overseas, don’t hold your breath.

Xiaomi to launch Mi Mix Fold 3 foldable smartphone on August 14