Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 review

Introduction

Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 is the thinnest foldable phone on the market in 2022 - an impressive achievement that should immediately put it into the spotlight for quite some time. Unfortunately, few will be able to purchase this Mix Fold 2 as it is available exclusively in China.

It seems Xiaomi has no interest in selling its cutting-edge smartphones outside of China. The Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra did not make it to international markets, the first Mix Fold didn't, the thoroughly great Xiaomi 12S Ultra didn't, and now the Mix Fold 2 is here to show us what we cannot have.

With that rant now over, let's explore this Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 that arrived recently at our office.

The new Mix Fold 2 is a massive upgrade over the previous Mix Fold. For starters, it is much thinner and lighter - the folded Fold 2 is just 11mm thick (vs. 17mm), and it weighs 262 grams (vs. 317g). It has an improved hinge, Gorilla Glass Victus front, aluminum chassis, and frosted rear glass.

The two screens on the Mix Fold are some of the best the industry has to offer. The front (cover) one is a 6.56-inch OLED of standard 1080p resolution and traditional 21:9 aspect. It also impresses with 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support.

The centerpiece of the Mix Fold 2 is the foldable display, of course. It's among the largest ones on the market today - an 8.02-inch Foldable LTPO2 OLED panel without any cutouts. It can show over 1B colors, supports 120Hz refresh rate, and is HDR10+, and it's Dolby Vision certified. In addition to the high refresh rate improvement over the Mix Fold, this screen is also brighter and should be less reflective.

The Mix Fold 2 utilizes the most current Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, and it is coupled with 12GB RAM. That's in line with the current crop of flagships and a good upgrade over the Snapdragon 888 chipset within the first Mix Fold.

The rear camera is another showstopper - it's a Leica-powered triple setup with a 50MP OIS primary, an 8MP OIS 2x tele and a 13MP ultrawide camera with AF. Indeed, this makes the Mix Fold 2 yet another Xiaomi-Leica partnership few will have access to, but it is what it is.

There is one aspect where the Mix Fold 2 has been downgraded since the Mix Fold - there are two speakers now instead of four. But they should be larger than before and are tuned by harmon/kardon. There is support for Dolby Atmos, too.

Finally, the Mix Fold 2 is powered by a 4,500mAh battery that supports 67W fast wired charging.

Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 specs at a glance:

• Body: 161.1x144.7x5.4mm, 262g; glass front (folded), plastic front (unfolded), glass back, aluminum frame.
• Display: 8.02" Foldable LTPO2 OLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, 1000 nits (HBM), 1300 nits (peak), 1914x2160px resolution, 10.16:9 aspect ratio, 360ppi, Schott UTG glass; Cover display:, AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, 1000 nits (HBM), 1300 nits (peak), 6.56 inches, 1080 x 2520 pixels, 21:9 ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8475 Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (4 nm): Octa-core (1x3.19 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3x2.75 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 730.
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM; UFS 3.1.
• OS/Software: Android 12, MIUI Fold 13.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 1/1.56", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 8 MP, f/2.6, 45mm, Dual Pixel PDAF, 2x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 13 MP, f/2.4, 15mm, 123˚, 1.12µm, AF
• Front camera: 20 MP, 27mm (wide), 1/3.4", 0.8µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240/960fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 1080p@30/60fps, 720p@120fps.
• Battery: 4500mAh; Fast charging 67W, 100% in 40 min (advertised), Power Delivery 3.0, Quick Charge 4+.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC; Infrared port; stereo speakers.

Samsung's most current Galaxy Z Fold4 has two major advantages over the Mix Fold 2 if they were to go head-to-head. The Galaxy is IPX8-rated for water resistance, and it runs on Android 12L instead of regular Android 12, which offers native support for foldable screens with some special tricks. The Mix Fold 2 cannot match the usability Samsung offers on its Galaxy, though there are some promising functions that are part of MIUI Fold 13.

On the other hand, the Mix Fold 2 is much thinner and offers larger screens, and it can brag with premium packaging.

Unboxing the Mix Fold 2

Indeed, the Mix Fold 2 arrives within a big black box, which contains the proprietary 67W charger and the needed 6A-rated cable needed for the fast charging to work. But that's not the end of it!

Inside the box, you will also find a USB-C-to-3.5mm adapter, so you may continue to use your favorite wired headphones. And you get a special leather cover with an adjustable kickstand! Nice!

Finally, the cover screen arrives with a thin protector that's been applied within the factory.