Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 review

Design, build quality, handling

The Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 has the most impressive design across the foldable market right now, this is simply undeniable. The incredibly slim profile, be it folded or not, the lightweight body, and the premium feel you get by just holding the phone - it's exactly how a true flagship should feel in someone's hands.

Galaxy Z Fold4 vs. Mix Fold 2

Pitting the Mix Fold 2 next to the Galaxy Z Fold4 shows exactly how larger the Mix Fold 2 is due to its 8.02-inch screen. Xiaomi's device has a full-fledged cover screen that can easily rival most phones' OLEDs on the market right now.

And then there is the less reflective foldable screen, which also flexes with its large size and having no cutouts.

Galaxy Z Fold4 vs. Mix Fold 2

It's not all in favor of the Mix Fold 2, of course. There is one notable omission on the Xiaomi's smartphone, or shall we say tablet - its hinge doesn't allow semi-folded positions. You either use the phone fully open, or fully closed. This immediately cuts plenty of use cases for the foldable form factor and that's a shame.

Galaxy Z Fold4 vs. Mix Fold 2

The thinner and more compact hinge also costed Xiaomi waterproofing properties - another big feature Samsung has every right to brag with and use against the competition.

And yet, look at this Mix Fold 2 - isn't it beautiful?

Enough with the Galactic comparison, let's explore this Mix Fold 2 in full and see what it's made of and how good or bad is its handling experience.

So, in folded state the Mix Fold 2 looks a lot any recent traditional smartphone. Most of its front is occupied by the 6.56-inch AMOLED screen with evenly thin bezels. The panel has 21:9 aspect ratio and offers extended 1080p resolution.

While the cover screen is supposed to be an auxiliary one, Xiaomi still gave it all the perks you may think of - 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, Dolby Vision. There is a small cutout for the 20MP selfie camera. And the whole thing is protected with a Gorilla Glass Victus sheet and surrounded by a thin metal frame.

The backside of the folded Mix Fold 2 is also covered in glass, frosted this time around. This matt finish is fingerprint resistant but it's more slippery than if it were a glossy panel.

The massive camera island sits on the back, too, and it's almost edge-to-edge. At first, we thought of this as unnecessary large, since it's about 3mm thick. But if it weren't that wide, it would have made the Mix Fold 2 wobble horribly.

The camera housing is all metal and it accommodates the 50MP primary, the 8MP 2x tele, and the 13MP ultrawide eye that also doubles as a macro camera thanks to its autofocus capabilities. A dual-LED flash and what appears to be a color spectrum sensor are also around. The Leica logo is around, too, making sure people know your cameras feature Leica-made lenses.

Let's take a quick look around the sides.

The top houses one of the speakers, the SIM tray, the IR blaster and one of the microphones.

The bottom of the Mix Fold 2 has the other speaker, the USB-C port, and the primary microphone.

The left side has the hinge cover, a really thin one, made of metal. It has no markings.

The right part of the Mix Fold 2 is where you'd see the volume and the power/lock keys. The surface of the lock key also doubles as a fingerprint scanner - it's always-on and impressively fast.

And here is the unfolded Mix Fold 2.

The 8.02-inch foldable OLED screen is edge-to-edge without any cutouts. It has a thin plastic framing as all foldables do.

The crease is not visible, but you can feel it. It is slightly less prominent as on the Z Fold4, but this is rather subjective.

The foldable screen is covered by a Schott UTG glass with additional antireflective coating. We can confirm the screen is less reflective than the Galaxy Z Fold4's one and looks like it offers more contrast because of that.

In its unfolded state the Mix Fold 2 is incredibly thin at just 5.4mm and feels amazing in your hands.

Unfortunately, here is one of the biggest issues - due to the rounded frame it's rather tough to open the Mix Fold 2. We needed to push with our nails and fingertips harder than expected and then manage to keep the phone steady and not to drop it. We got used to this in about five days, but it was far less convenient and pleasant as on other foldable competitors. Making it harder to open also takes aways some of the foldable coolness.

And then, the Mix Fold 2 can't be used folded in an angle different from 180-degrees a.k.a. fully open state. It's either unfolded or folded, nothing in-between. This takes away a couple of great usability features. Then again, the phone runs on regular Android 12 instead of Android 12L, so even it were able to unfold hallway through, it would have still not gotten these tricks, probably.

Xiaomi ships the Mix Fold 2 with a thin leather case that has an integrated adjustable kickstand. This will help you watch movies or TV shows on the cover screen without any other support.

The case is convenient, sure, but it also tremendously improves on the grip experience. With this case the Mix Fold 2 feels secure in hand, and it gets the much needed boost. It also makes much easier to open the Mix Fold 2 because of the extra grip around the frame - something that is a rather big issue in naked state.

So, the Mix Fold 2 is of a solid premium build - it is the thinnest foldable on the market, with superb screens all-round, and the huge Leica camera does look good. No glass phone offers good grip, especially one with rounded metal frame. That's why we strongly suggest using the leather case - it's super thin and doesn't take away anything from the Mix Fold 2, in fact - it only makes it better.

The Mix Fold 2 is missing some neat tricks like waterproofing and halfway-open mode, but we guess that's the price for being the thinnest phone of this form factor on the market. And we are sure there are many people ready to pay it.