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Xiaomi announced its first commercial foldable in the market back in 2021, the Xiaomi Mix Fold. The phone was the company’s first attempt at this emerging form factor and did a pretty decent job of delivering a foldable experience. However, the phone was not perfect, with a visible crease on the internal display as well as an unusual resolution on both the foldable and cover displays. Not to mention the phone was really thick at 17.2mm in its foldable state.

More than a year later, the brand is out with a new generation of foldable, the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2. The phone improves on basically every aspect of its predecessor, now coming in a compact form factor with the same sized displays, better resolution matching industry standards, and the latest Qualcomm processor.

So let’s take a look at the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 vs Xiaomi Mix Fold comparison and see how much of an upgrade the new device brings to the table.

 

Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold 2 vs Xiaomi Mix Fold

Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 vs Mix Fold
Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 vs Mix Fold

SPECS TABLE

Design

The Mix Fold 2 and the Mix Fold come with similar-sized displays on the outside as well as the inside. However, what’s commendable is that the dimensions on the new model have slimmed down considerably.

The Mix Fold 2 measures 161.1 x 144.7 x 5.4mm in its unfolded, open state which is way more compact than the Fold’s dimensions of 173.3 x 133.4 x 7.6 mm. Even in its folded state, the previous generation model is wider and slimmer (161.1 x 73.9 x 11.2mm vs 173.3 x 69.8 x 17.2mm). Finally, the weight has also reduced drastically from the Mix Fold’s 332 grams to a Galaxy Fold4-like 262g weight on the Mix Fold 2.

You don’t have a ceramic option like the original Mix Fold model but given the considerable drop in weight, it might be for the better. The wider profile of the cover display definitely makes it feel like a regular smartphone, unlike the narrow display on the original Fold.

Overall, when it comes to the form factor, the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 is miles ahead of the Mix Fold, with lighter, slimmer, and industry-standard sizing.

 

Display

Despite its reduced form factor, the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 boasts almost the exact same screen size as its predecessor. On the outside, the phone features a 120Hz HDR10+ 8-inch 1914 x 2160 pixel resolution display (LTPO2) with school UTG glass. The cover screen comes with a 6.56-inch 120Hz panel with a 21:9 aspect ratio and HDR10+. As you can see, these resolutions are very close to standard smartphone resolutions, making it very easy to adjust to its unique form factor.

In comparison, the original Mix Fold comes with the same screen sizes on the front and the back with both featuring HDR10+ and Dolby Vision screens. However, its foldable display features a resolution of 1860 x 2480 pixels while the cover display features an even weirder resolution of 840 x 2520 pixels which translates to a 27:9 ratio. Note that the cover display is limited to 90Hz resolutions as compared to 120Hz on the Mix Fold 2.
Both foldables feature a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.

 

Specs & Software

The Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 gets the biggest update in the processor department, featuring the Snapdragon 8+ Gen1 chip, which is faster and more efficient than the one found inside the original Mi Mix Fold. To recall, the original Fold comes with the Snapdragon 888 chip, which was the flagship SoC of 2021.

Xiaomi went all out in terms of memory configuration for its original foldable. The phone came with up to 512GB ROM and 16GB of RAM. On the other hand, the new Mix Fold 2 maxes out at 12GB RAM but with up to 1TB of storage.

In terms of software, the Mix Fold 2 runs on the newer Android 12-based MIUI Fold 13 OS. The original Mix Fold started off with Android 10-based MIUI 12. But it is expected to receive MIUI 13 in the coming months. Both phones have features tweaked to take full advantage of their foldable form factor. While the original Mix Fold started off with limited foldable UI tweaks, subsequent updates have added a bunch of foldable-specific features to the device.

 

Camera

Both foldables have good camera setups. However, the new Mix Fold 2 brings Leica-based optimizations to its camera module. The Mix Fold 2 starts off with a 50MP f/1.8 primary camera featuring OIS, another 8MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom, and a 13MP Ultra Wide shooter.

The original Mix had an even larger resolution primary camera, a 108MP shooter paired with a telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, and the same 13MP Ultra Wide shooter as the Mix Fold 2.

On the front, both generations feature the same 20MP selfie camera.

While the Mix Fold 2 features a solid camera setup, powered by a new chip that should enable better image processing, the original Mix Fold’s camera setup is actually pretty good too. Only a real-life comparison would help us identify the better cameras among these two phones.

 

Battery

Surprisingly, the original Mix Fold had a larger battery than the new generation model. It featured a 5000mAh battery with 67W fast charging, which is the same charging speed as found on the new Mix Fold 2. However, the new generation model reduces the battery capacity to 4500mAh, likely due to its slimmer and lighter profile.

Unfortunately, both phones lack wireless charging support, unlike the Galaxy Z Fold series.

 

Price

Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold 2 starts around 8,999 yuan (~$1,335) for the base 256GB storage., while Xiaomi Mix Fold can be bought as low as $1000 right now. Given that the Xiaomi foldable is a brand new device, it’s pretty expensive to buy globally and retails for around $1700 via Giztop.

There’s no doubt that the Mix Fold 2 is a way superior foldable, even one of the best options for a foldable in the 2022 market. However, it does come at a cost internationally, and if you can get the original Mix Fold for less than $1000, it might actually be a tempting offer.

 

 

Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 vs Xiaomi Mix Fold: PRO and CONS

Xiaomi Mix Fold 2

PROs

  • Very Slim and lightweight
  • Best 2022 Processor
  • Leica Cameras

CONS

  • No wireless charging
  • Smaller Battery

Xiaomi Mix Fold (2021)

PROs

  • Larger Battery
  • Competent Cameras
  • Significantly Cheaper

CONS

  • Very Heavy and Bulky
  • Slower and Less Efficient Processor
  • Older Device

 

 

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