Xiaomi launches first flip phone for $825, alongside $70 portable printer

Beijing: On Friday, Xiaomi introduced its first flip phone capable of instantly printing photos via a separately sold portable printer. The Mix Flip is priced starting at 5,999 yuan ($825). As per reports, Preorders are available from Friday, with deliveries starting Tuesday. The portable printer is priced at 499 yuan ($68), including photo paper.

Additionally, Xiaomi launched the Mix Fold 4, the latest version of its folding phone, maintaining the previous version’s price of 8,999 yuan. At the launch event, Xiaomi founder Lei Jun showcased the Mix Fold 4's ability to perform simultaneous translations with one language on each side of the screen but did not highlight other artificial intelligence features. He noted that the portable printer supply is limited.

Reportedly, in March, Xiaomi released its first electric car, the SU7 sedan, priced lower than Tesla’s Model 3. Lei announced that cumulative deliveries had surpassed 30,000 vehicles as of Friday, with a target of 100,000 deliveries by November, a month ahead of schedule. To meet rising demand, Xiaomi doubled shifts at its southern Beijing factory to 16 hours a day, employing around 2,000 workers and 700 robots.

Lei also shared that updates to the SU7 in August would enable voice control from outside the car. During his fifth annual speech, Lei recounted how U.S. sanctions in January 2021 led Xiaomi’s board to consider alternatives, such as car manufacturing, if smartphone sales were no longer viable. After much deliberation, Lei committed to the venture, estimating a 10 billion dollars investment, and declined early investment offers valuing the standalone car business at 10 billion dollars. 

Lei shared his journey of driving over 170 different cars and obtaining a race car license, along with over 100 company executives and engineers. He reflected on the unexpected path to the automotive industry, stating, “Three years ago, an accident allowed me to join such an interesting industry.” Xiaomi successfully appealed the U.S. sanctions in 2021 and was removed from the blacklist in May of that year.

Looking ahead, Lei announced Xiaomi’s ambition to develop the fastest four-door electric car to drive the Nurburgring race track in Germany, with tests for a new SU7 race car version starting in October. This follows Geely-owned Zeekr's launch of an F1-inspired limited version of its 001 electric car in October 2023.

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