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Polaroid Hi-Print 3×3: review
I’m an instant photography fan, and a firm believer that one photographic print is worth a thousand forgotten files mouldering away in a cloud-storage account – so new products from Polaroid always grab my attention. Since its revival in 2017 – following the acquisition of the brand name by a group of analog evangelists named ‘The Impossible Project’ – Polaroid has gone from strength to strength, building up an impressive range of instant cameras and printers (my personal favorite is the Polaroid Flip).
The Polaroid Hi-Print 3×3 is the brand’s newest Bluetooth printer, designed to quickly turn images from your phone’s camera roll into real, tangible prints measuring 3×3 inches. It doesn’t take classic Polaroid instant film, instead using a heat-based dye-sublimation to quickly transfer images to paper. Very quickly, in fact – the Hi-Print 3×3 can spit out a print in comfortably under a minute.
Polaroid offers two other similar printers – the smaller Hi·Print 2×3 and the larger Hi-Print 4×6. However, the Hi-Print 3×3 offers two key USPs that make it more than just a gap-filler in the lineup.
The first, and most significant, is that the Hi-Print 3×3 has a built-in slot for a square photo on one side, with a transparent protective cover that can be placed over the top. Thanks to its boxy rectangular shape, it can be stood vertically on a flat surface and used to display the inserted image – meaning it functions as printer and frame all in one. Nifty!
The second is the fact that it prints images in square format, rather than the rectangular 2×3” or 4×6” formats of the other printers. Your mileage may vary on this one, but for me, a Polaroid isn’t a Polaroid if it doesn’t have that distinctive square shape, and even though the prints from the Hi-Print 3×3 are made using an identical process to the other two printers, they just feel much more like Polaroids than the rectangular prints do.
Printing is done via your phone, using the Polaroid Hi-Print app available for iOS or Android. Be warned that the printer can only connect through the app – at first I tried connecting via Bluetooth directly, and was confused as to why it wasn’t working. Once I booted up the app, the pairing was instant.
Once you’ve selected an image to print from your phone’s camera roll, you are presented with a fairly comprehensive selection of editing tools, including sliders for brightness, contrast, shadows, highlights, saturation, etc, as well as cropping and straightening.
It’s the latter two compositional tools that will likely get the most use. As far as color, dynamic range and exposure are concerned, the majority of modern smartphones have automatic photo-processing that probably beats anything you’re going to achieve with a set of fairly imprecise sliders. However, since you’re printing in square format and your phone will shoot wider than that, your images are always going to be cropped, so it’s worth getting into the habit of ensuring the crop is where you want it, and the composition is to your taste.
There are also options to add stickers and text to your images, and the box contains a set of physical stickers for use on the finished print, if so desired. I did not desire, but you do you. The battery lasts well, and can quickly and easily be topped up via USB-C when needed.
The print quality itself, I would call pretty good. You’ll likely be pleased the first time a print comes out – the colors are big, bold and vivid. There’s none of the washed-out look that can plague some instant digital printers, especially those that use zero-ink (ZINK) printing like Kodak’s Printomatic camera or Canon’s Canon Ivy Cliq+2. In terms of visual impact, Polaroid has them both beat. It doesn’t quite have the lo-fi magic of Polaroid’s I-Type film utilized by cameras such as the premium I-2, but that’s what makes it much cheaper to run.
In my time with the Hi-Print I did run into one mis-print, caused apparently by paper misalignment. This necessitated a restart of the printer and a redo of the print, cutting my pack of ten down to nine. Not ruinous, but a shame, and since it was my first print, it wasn’t the best first impression!
The prints don’t hold up to super-close scrutiny, not that I’d expect them to. When inspected closely, fine detail can appear rather smudgy. Landscape-style images with distant detail tend to fare the worst – in general, the best subject for a print is one with a nice big subject, front and centre. The tonal range isn’t bad though – I fed through some images featuring sunset skies, and the printer did a better job than I expected of reproducing the subtle interplays of blues and oranges. Not amazing, but not bad.
The frame functionality may sound like a gimmick, but I found it rather charming, and I think it extends the fun factor of the printer. Being able to slot in different images whenever you want, according to your mood or the time of year or whatever else – it’s fun! I could especially see it appealing to a younger person who wants some changeable decoration for their room. The small dimensions and freestanding design of the Hi-Print allow it to easily be displayed on a shelf, windowsill or bedside table.
It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s a fun way to get photos off your phone and into the real world. I’ve enjoyed my time with it, and while digital instant printing doesn’t capture the alchemical magic of instant film, this for me is as close as it has ever come.
Polaroid Hi-Print 3×3: price & release date
Polaroid took the wraps off the Hi-Print 3×3 in April 2026. It’s available for a starting price of $119.99 / £99.99 / AU$ 194.00, and that’s with a set of ten sheets included. Once you’ve blown through those, a re-up cartridge of 30 sheets can be picked up for $24.99 / £22.99 / AU$44 (there are also bulk-buy packages that work out a little cheaper per sheet). True Polaroid I-type instant film is much pricier per print.
This starting price puts it in the middle of Polaroid’s printer range – the smaller Polaroid Hi·Print 2×3 Generation 2 is available for $109.99 / £89.99 / AU$176, while the larger-format Polaroid Hi-Print 4×6 starts at $149.99 / £129.99 / AU$264.
Polaroid Hi-Print 3×3: specs
|
Dimensions |
103 x 131 x 30 mm |
|
Print size |
76.2mm x 76.2mm (3″ x 3″) |
|
Printing process |
Dye diffusion thermal transfer |
|
Connectivity |
Bluetooth |
|
Battery |
Lithium-ion rechargeable |
|
Charging port |
USB-C |
|
Print time |
< 50 sec |
|
Weight |
390g |
|
App compatibility |
iOS / Android |
Should I buy the Polaroid Hi-Print 3×3?
|
Attributes |
Notes |
Rating |
|---|---|---|
|
Features |
Quick, easy photo printing, augmented by fast charging and an intuitive app. |
4/5 |
|
Design |
Clever free-standing box design gives the printer additional function as a display frame. |
4.5/5 |
|
Performance |
Prints deliver punchy color and decent tonal range, though fine details can get smudgy. |
4/5 |
|
Value |
It’s cheaper than a Polaroid camera, though still not exactly cheap (and paper’s an ongoing cost). |
3.5/5 |
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Polaroid Hi-Print 3×3: also consider
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Polaroid Hi-Print 3×3 |
Kodak Mini 2 Retro |
Fujifilm Instax Mini Link 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Type |
Digital instant printer |
Digital instant printer |
Instant film printer |
|
Print size |
3” x 3” |
2.1” x 3.4″ |
1.8” x 2.4” |
|
Connectivity |
Bluetooth |
Bluetooth |
Bluetooth |
|
Charging port |
USB-C |
Micro USB |
USB-C |
|
Printing time |
Approx. 50 sec |
Approx. 70 sec |
Approx. 15 sec (approx. 90 sec developing time) |
|
Weight |
390g |
245g |
210g |
|
Dimensions |
131 x 103 x 30mm |
134 x 80 x 26mm |
125 x 90 x 37.3mm |
How I tested the Polaroid Hi-Print 3×3
- I tested the Polaroid Hi-Print 3×3 using two full cartridges of paper
- I transferred and edited photographs from my phone using the Android version of the app
- I mounted the photos into the frame and displayed them at various points around my home
Polaroid sent me the Hi-Print 3×3 to try, along with several cartridges of paper. I downloaded the app to my phone and used it to connect to the printer, testing out the editing functions before sending images to the printer.
I selected a variety of different images, including landscapes, selfies, pet images, food shots and more, with a range of colour tones and compositions.
Once images were printed, I displayed them in the slot as specified, and placed them in various spots around my home to see how they looked.
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