Xiaomi Launches $800 Flip Phone with $70 Portable Printer

Xiaomi’s new flip phone, priced just over $800, pairs with a $70 portable printer for instant photos alongside the similarly priced Mix Fold 4

On Friday, Xiaomi introduced its inaugural flip phone, which boasts the capacity to print images instantaneously with a portable printer that is sold separately.

The company has announced that the Mix Flip is priced at 5,999 yuan ($825).

Preorders commence on Friday, with deliveries commencing on Tuesday.

The portable printer, including photo paper, costs 499 yuan ($68).

The Mix Fold 4, the most recent iteration of the Chinese company’s foldable phone, was also released at the same price as its predecessor, 8,999 yuan.

Lei Jun, the inventor of Xiaomi, demonstrated the Mix Fold 4’s ability to facilitate simultaneous translation by displaying one language on each side of the screen during the product launch. However, he did not otherwise emphasize the capabilities of artificial intelligence.

Additionally, he cautioned that the portable printer was in short supply. In late March, the organization introduced its inaugural electric vehicle, the SU7 sedan, at a lower cost than Tesla’s Model 3.Lei stated that cumulative deliveries had surpassed 30,000 vehicles as of Friday and that he anticipated delivering 100,000 automobiles by November, which is one month earlier than previously announced.

A staff member stated that the company’s factory in southern Beijing increased the number of shifts to 16 hours per day last month to accommodate the increased demand.

The factory employs approximately 700 robots and approximately 2,000 human laborers.

According to Lei, an update to the SU7 in August would enable vocal control from the exterior.

He delivered his fifth annual speech during the initial portion of the three-hour product presentation.

This year’s speech highlighted the impact of U.S. sanctions on Xiaomi in January 2021, which led the company’s board of directors to request that Lei consider alternative options, such as vehicle construction, if they could not sell smartphones.

He stated that he had decided to do so after many hours of contemplation and informed the board that it would necessitate $10 billion in expenditures. He said he declined initial investment proposals from venture capitalists who valued a standalone car business at $10 billion.

Lei stated that he attempted to operate over 170 distinct vehicles over three years and obtained a race car license in conjunction with over 100 company executives and engineers.

“Three years ago, an accident enabled me to enter such an intriguing industry,” Lei stated in Mandarin, as translated by CNBC.

In 2021, Xiaomi contested the U.S. sanctions and was removed from the blacklist in May of that year.

Lei disclosed on Friday that Xiaomi’s objective was to develop the fastest four-door electric vehicle capable of traversing the Nurburgring race circuit in Germany within the next decade. Testing of a new SU7 race car version is scheduled to commence in October.

In October 2023, Zeekr, which Geely owns, introduced a restricted edition of its 001 electric vehicle inspired by Formula One.