Xiaomi shows what a foldable could look like if Samsung had competition

The Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 launched in China just days after Samsung announced its next generation of foldable phones, and Xiaomi is looking to gain an edge over its competition with a slimmer design, larger screens, and a more affordable price.

The Mix Fold 2 has several improvements over the original Mi Mix Fold released 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 various storage options ranging from 256GB to 1TB. It also features an improved hinge and comes in gold or black.

As a foldable, you get an outer 6.56-inch OLED screen (2520 x 1080) with a 21:9 long aspect ratio and an inner 8.02-inch LTPO 2.0 screen (2160 x 1914), which are slightly more bigger than Samsung’s. 6.2-inch OLED outer screen (2316 x 904) and 7.6-inch OLED inner screen (2176 x 1812) found on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Both Mix Fold 2 screens run at 120Hz with a brightness of 1000 nits. The outer screen is protected by the latest (and toughest) Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, while the main folding screen uses ultra-thin Schott glass, as Samsung is known to use.

Xiaomi’s foldable features a triple camera setup with a 50-megapixel main camera, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide, and an eight-megapixel telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom. There’s also a 20-megapixel hole-punch camera on the front for selfies.

Image: Xiaomi

Xiaomi’s announcement comes after Samsung launched two foldable devices of its own on Wednesday, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4, which will create some much-needed competition in the foldable market if the Mix Fold 2 ever does. is sent to markets outside of Porcelana. One way that Xiaomi is trying to gain an edge over its Korean rivals is its claim that the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 is the “world’s thinnest foldable phone”. At just 5.4mm, it shaves nearly 15 percent off the thickness of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 at 6.3mm.

It’s not all sun and device measurement contests, though, as Samsung’s flagship offering includes a useful Flex mode (Samsung’s terminology for apps that automatically reorient themselves to fit a folded screen) and IPX8 water resistance, two features that the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 lacks. However, Xiaomi’s 4,500 mAh battery capacity is still slightly larger than the 4,400 mAh battery found inside Samsung’s Z Fold 4. The Mix Fold 2 also supports 67W fast wired 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, Samsung claims the phone can reach up to 50 percent of its battery capacity in 30 minutes.

Image: Xiaomi

Currently, the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 is only available for purchase in China, with no announcements as to when the phone might come to other markets. The price of the 256GB base model is set at CNY 8,999 (around $1,300 USD), which is significantly lower than the CNY 13,999 (over $2,000 USD) Samsung is asking for the 256GB version of its Z Fold 4. in the country.

If those prices hold for an international launch, then Samsung could Finally They face serious competition in foldable devices, especially in price-sensitive markets like India, where Xiaomi is already No. 1 in market share and Samsung has just slipped to fourth place, according to IDC.