[Update: Mar. 12] Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 5G MIUI 12.5 update "highly unlikely," says community moderator

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…

Original story (published on March 04, 2021) follows:

“Smartphones don’t have to be boring slabs of metal and glass.” This is what must’ve been on the minds of the guys behind the extremely radical design of the Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 5G.

The phone invoked a strong sense of nostalgia with its unusual sliding mechanism, reminiscent of how some phones used to be like a decade or so back.

This unique design was implemented because the phone was intended to have a seamless unobstructed screen sans notches of any kind.

The design wasn’t the only thing to brag about though, as the phone also came with a top-of-the-line spec sheet coupled with the fact that it was one of the first to come with 5G support.

But every dog has its day and the glory days of the device have seemingly come to an end. Of course, this does not mean that its specs have aged or something, since it’s quite a performer to this date.

Rather, as per a recent comment left by a mod, the Mi MIX 3 5G may never see the light of MIUI 12.5. “Highly unlikely,” they say.

Now, it’s clear that the statement lacks a tone of surety, which leaves a tiny window of hope for users. There is, however, plenty of evidence that points towards the MIUI 12 update as the device’s last.

Firstly, as pointed out by the mod themselves, the Mi MIX 3 5G is still stuck on Android Pie. This truly is pretty pathetic on part of Xiaomi considering that the device hasn’t even bagged a single Android update since its launch back in 2019.

Surely, a flagship device with top-of-the-range specs did not deserve such a treatment. After all, several budget devices have beaten the MIX 3 5G in this aspect.

For example, the Redmi Note 7 Pro was launched just around a month apart from the MIX 3 5G and is already running MIUI 12 based on Android 10.

And secondly, the Mi MIX 3 5G has been completely left out from the MIUI 12.5 beta development process. Again, this comes whilst several other budget devices launched along with it are actively undergoing beta testing.

From all this, it is safe to say that the mod’s assumptions hold true.

Abandonment also doesn’t sound too far-fetched given that the MIX 3 was crafted experimentally for Xiaomi to flex its capabilities. Thus, it may have barely sold enough units for Xiaomi to take the device seriously.

However, this definitely is no excuse considering that the phone is still a consumer product and not some lab rat.

Xiaomi needs to pull its socks up and push out at least one major update before the MIX 3’s software support life finally expires a couple of months from now.

Nonetheless, we are still hopeful and will continue tracking the device’s progress with regards to MIUI 12.5 or any major updates for that matter. Therefore, you might want to keep an eye on our dedicated MIUI 12.5 update tracker.

Update 1 (March 12)

04:49 pm (IST): A moderator has now shed some new light regarding the update status for the device. It seems that bugs and the lack of a good user base have left the Mi MIX 3 5G with no updates.

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