Ever since Xiaomi made the MIX Fold first generation, it doesn’t seem to have received the attention it deserved. I personally feel that it is probably one of the biggest failures in Xiaomi’s smartphone lineup. But recently, Xiaomi tried making a comeback in this category with a new foldable, and here is our unboxing of the MIX Fold 2.
The box of MIX Fold 2 is just like other foldable phones, meaning its very big. The box is opened in a pull-out and flip-book style, which is also a way to show the MIX Fold 2’s premium status in the Xiaomi phone family. After taking out this piece of cardboard, the MIX Fold 2 is shown in front of our eyes.
As usual, we’ll first put the phone aside, and look at the accessories inside. First, theres the usual 67w charger and data cable. You also get an instruction manual and a SIM Card pin. The most special thing is this protective case. The ugly transparent case that comes with the Xiaomi 12S Ultra has finally been replaced with a vegan leather case, and this one has a bar. It can make your phone stand up. That’s right, this is a really high-end phone case, not the usual cheap one.
There are two ways to make a foldable phone: one is to make the Foldable phone as perfect as possible without worrying much about sizing and weight, such as Samsung’s Z Fold series and Vivo’s X Fold. The other is to make it as light and small as possible, you know to present it like a normal phone after folding, such as OPPO Find N and Xiaomi MIX Fold 2.
Look at the thickness, it is even thinner than iPad mini. And it’s thinner than most Foldable phones of the same type. If you’re still not sure how thin it is, take three coins and stack them up, it’s about that thick. Plus, it is one of the lightest among other foldable phones, so it really feels like a very compact mini tablet in your hand. When you close it up, it’s a little heavier and thicker than a normal phone, but it’s also within an acceptable range. If you want to buy a foldable phone, but you want it to be thin and light enough, then OPPO Find N and MIX Fold 2 are definitely one of the choices.
But I’m sure you’ll choose the MIX Fold 2 because two screens are better than the Find N. First, this 21:9 screen outside, the display area is straight, the right side of the protective glass has a curve, gesture operation is more comfortable, and at the same time, it will not affect the display. The protective glass is Corning Victus, and the bezel is also very narrow. And most importantly, it has 120Hz refresh rate. The screen inside is also a top screen, using UTG glass, and the creases are at the same level as the Vivo X Fold. It’s notable that the Eco² OLED panel is used this time, and the biggest benefit is that it’s more power efficient. I’m looking forward to seeing how much longer the MIX Fold 2 lasts in the full review battery life test.
Speaking of battery life, the MIX Fold 2 is packed with two batteries totaling 4500mAh. Although every foldable phone has a similar battery capacity, Xiaomi should have put a lot of effort into it considering it’s such a thin and light body. What’s Equally surprising is the fact that even at only 5mm thick, an IMX 766 main camera has been put in there. With Leica’s tuning, I believe that photography should not be the shortcoming of MIX Fold 2.
The MIX Fold 2 was delayed until today, I believe a big reason for that was to wait for the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. Without that chip, the Snapdragon 888+ or 8 Gen 1 would definitely make this phone’s battery drain a lot faster. We also probably run some benchmarks, and the scores can be paused for a closer look. The details of the camera test and game test will be further analyzed in our upcoming Full review, so stay tuned.
Xiaomi customized the MIUI Fold 13 system for the MIX Fold 2. Compared to the first gen system that was copied from the tablet, this system still has a lot of changes. For example, the layout has changed, there are more desktop icons, and many APPs have been optimized for layout. Gestures have also been added, such as a three-finger horizontal swipe to quickly split the screen. There are also various uses of multi-window, such as playing Genshin while using the map tools, and perhaps watching a video. The initial experience is that the MIUI Fold system is still good.
As we all know, when a phone gets lighter and thinner, it must come at a price. Mix Fold 2 is certainly not perfect, and there are some drawbacks that we knew even before we got the phone. For example, there is no wireless charging, which makes sense since wireless charging coils lead to a thicker body. The PC mode on the MIX Fold first gen has also been removed. In order to reduce weight, the hinge is simplified a lot, so it has a very small staying angle. This means that in many scenarios you are not able to use this device like the X Fold or Z Fold.
Okay, that’s all from our MIX Fold 2 Unboxing today. Are you satisfied with this MIX Fold 2 after the first look? I think it meets my expectations for the Xiaomi Foldable phone. Of course, the camera and performance are still not tested, so I can’t still give you a final verdict.
But what do you think of the phone so far? Let us know in the comments down below.
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