The Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 launched in China just days after Samsung announced its next generation of foldable phones, with Xiaomi looking to gain an edge over the competition with slimmer designs, bigger displays and a more affordable price.
The Mix Fold 2 has several improvements over the original Mi Mix Fold launched last year that go beyond removing the Mi branding. The Fold 2 is powered by Qualcomm’s latest flagship Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 SoC chipset, with 12GB of RAM and several storage options ranging from 256GB to 1TB. It also features an improved hinge and is available in gold or black.
Just in case you want to know if the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 looks good in black. Image: Xiaomi
Being foldable, you get a 6.56-inch OLED external display (2520 x 1080) with a long 21:9 aspect ratio and an 8.02-inch LTPO 2.0 internal display (2160 x 1914), which are slightly larger than those Samsung’s 6.2-inch OLED external display (2316 x 904) and 7.6-inch (2176 x 1812) OLED internal display found on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Both Mix Fold 2 displays run at 120Hz with a brightness of 1000 rivets. The outer display is protected by the latest (and toughest) Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, while the main foldable display uses ultra-thin Schott glass, as Samsung is known to use.
Xiaomi’s foldable camera features a triple camera setup with a 50-megapixel primary camera, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide and an eight-megapixel telephoto with 2x optical zoom. There’s also a 20-megapixel punch-hole camera on the front for selfies.
Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 as seen from the back when folded open. Image: Xiaomi
Xiaomi’s announcement comes after Samsung launched two of its own foldable devices on Wednesday – the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4 – which will create much-needed competition in the foldable market if the Mix Fold 2 ever arrives in markets outside of China. One of the ways Xiaomi is trying to get ahead of its Korean competitors is by claiming that the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 is the “world’s thinnest foldable phone.” At just 5.4mm, it cuts almost 15 percent of the thickness of the 6.3mm Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4.
It’s not all sunshine and device-measuring competitions, though, as Samsung’s flagship offering includes a useful Flex Mode (Samsung’s term for apps that automatically reorient to fit a folded screen) and IPX8 water resistance, two features that are missing from the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2. Nevertheless, Xiaomi’s 4,500mAh battery capacity is still slightly larger than the 4,400mAh battery found in Samsung’s Z Fold 4. The Mix Fold 2 also supports 67W wired fast charging, with the brand claiming a full charge can be achieved in 40 minutes, while the Z Fold 4 only supports up to 25W fast charging by comparison, with Samsung claiming the phone can achieve up to 50 percent of your battery capacity in 30 minutes.
Given the lack of a competitor to Samsung’s Flex mode, you probably won’t want to keep the handset half-open like this. Image: Xiaomi
The Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 is currently only available for purchase in China, with no word on when the phone might hit other markets. The 256GB base model is priced at CNY 8,999 (around $1,300 USD), which significantly undercuts the CNY 13,999 (over $2,000 USD) that Samsung is asking for the 256GB version of its Z Fold 4 in the country.
If these prices hold for an international launch, then Samsung could finally face serious competition in foldables, especially in price-sensitive markets like India, where Xiaomi is already No. 1 in market share and Samsung has just fallen to fourth place, according to IDC.
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