Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 Teardown Reveals How The Slider Works

Mi Mix 3 is Xiaomi’s latest entrant in its flagship lineup. The Mix series is used by Xiaomi to experiment with new tech and the original Mi Mix phone was actually the one which started the full display trend.

With Oppo popularizing smartphone sliders with the Find X, it was only a matter of time until other phone makers followed suit. Xiaomi soon introduced the Mi Mix 3 with a slider as well but claimed it was a much better implementation than others.

Mi Mix 3 Teardown

JerryRigEverything, the famous YouTuber who tortures and breaks smartphones for a living, got his hands on the Mi Mix 3 and decided to perform his rituals on it.

Opening up the Mix 3 revealed that the sliding mechanism works through magnets, not that it was not known before, but the teardown revealed where the magnets were located and how the sliding mechanism was put in place.

There are two rectangular magnets placed directly underneath the battery. The front half of the phone that houses the display is attached to the other half via screws, that is also located underneath the battery compartment.

The screen half also has two magnets which are found under the sliding rack. The sliding rack itself is free, with nothing holding it in place except for when both halves are screwed together.

How The Slider Works

When the slider is closed, the magnets of both halves are on top of each other and attract each other, having enough force to keep the slider in place instead of opening and closing on its own.

When opening the slider, the magnets move just far enough to repel each other, which keeps the slider open and proides just enough resistance to avoid sliding back on its own. This is also what gives the Mix 3 that satisfying click when you open and close the slider.

Moreover, the use of magnets on the Mi Mix 3 is an excellent choice since mechanical parts, like those found on the Oppo Find X, may wear out and fail over time but magnets won’t.

Xiaomi Guarantees It Won’t Fail

Giving you extra peace of mind is the fact that Xiaomi says that the slider on the Mi Mix 3 can withstand 300,000 times of being opened and closed without showing any kind of problems.

However, a private tester broke that record and showed that it even works perfectly with over 600,000 sliding motions.

Kudos to Xiaomi for nailing the slider smartphone design.