[REVIEW] Xiaomi MIX Fold 2: The thinnest folding smartphone in the world surprised us, but also slightly disappointed

Content and quality of packaging

A premium and unusual smartphone deserves unusual packaging. The packaging of the new Xiaomi MIX Fold 2 is exactly the same. In this case, the smartphone box folds outwards on both sides.

In the middle of the box, we find an unfolded folding smartphone in a black foil that protects it from possible damage or contamination. Under the brace that holds it in place are three more boxes that hide accessories.

Specifically, it is a charging adapter, a USB-C cable, a plastic cover and a reduction from USB-C to a headphone jack. Since we ordered the smartphone from our partner TradingShenzhen, the quality of the overall packaging was excellent. You could watch our unboxing video earlier on our sister site Xiaomi Planet.

Quality workmanship and folding construction

Let's start right away with one of the most important elements of the new revolutionary smartphone from Xiaomi, which is the folding structure itself. It consists of two parts that fold together in a bend that also passes through the internal flexible display.

Folding is ensured by a metal hinge that runs along the entire height of the smartphone on its left side. The display inside bends into a drop shape with a radius of only 2.1 mm. This whole mechanism works excellently and folding or unfolding is very simple and trouble-free.

In addition, Xiaomi MIX Fold 2 is the thinnest folding smartphone in the world with a thickness of only 5.4 mm when unfolded and 11.2 mm when folded. Its entire construction is made of metal and has a truly premium feel. The smartphone can only be used in a fully unfolded state or closed. It doesn't hold the notebook-shaped position like the competing Galaxy Z Fold 4.

Despite being the thinnest foldable smartphone, it is still thicker than any standard smartphone when folded. Therefore, expect some compromises such as carrying it in your pants pocket, which is not ideal, but compared to the competition, it is much better. For example, the thickness of the competing Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is 14.2-15.8 mm, since this smartphone is not flat when closed.

Layout of control elements

Since the smartphone consists of two parts, the individual elements and sensors are distributed to the edges of both parts. The side with the external display has speakers in the upper and lower parts and a slot for SIM cards.

The second part of the smartphone hides the charging USB-C port along with the microphone in the lower edge, and the second microphone and IR sensor can be found in the upper edge. The right edge is home to the volume buttons and the unlock button, which doubles as a fingerprint reader.

The fingerprint reader works great, responds immediately without unnecessary delay and is very reliable. On the back of this part of the smartphone, we still find the main cameras and the LED light.

A bonus feature that we get when using the included cover is a flip-out kickstand that can be used while watching videos. However, in the case of such a smartphone, the cover is a slightly funny element, as it only protects the back right side of the lower part of the puzzle.

Flexible AMOLED display

Xiaomi MIX Fold 2 hides its treasure inside. By opening it, we get to a huge, 8.02″ AMOLED display with support for the second generation of LTPO technology and 2K+ resolution.

It is an OLED Eco2 display with a new type of flexible UTG glass, which is only 0.03 mm. Samsung achieved such thin glass by omitting the polarizing layer, which they integrated directly into the OLED panel.

The display has a resolution of 2160 x 1914 px with a pixel density of 360 ppi. It is not a widescreen format, which has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, when browsing the Internet, such an aspect ratio is absolutely satisfactory, but while watching movies or videos on YouTube, it is no win, since a large part of the display is unused in full-screen mode.

As we already mentioned, there is a high refresh rate of 120 Hz with an automatic adaptation function (LTPO 2), a high brightness of 1000 nits with a maximum of 1300 nits and support for Dolby Vision technology.

And does the bend in the display interfere? Absolutely not. Although the bend in the flexible AMOLED display is slightly visible along the entire middle part and is also tangible, it did not bother us at all. It is most visible against a black background, where certain reflections appear, and also when viewed from the side. On the positive side, the display is not disturbed by any cut-out for the selfie camera, as it is only located on the outer display.

Standard E5 panel on the outside

Without unfolding, the MIX Fold 2 can also be used as a classic smartphone. The external display is a standard Samsung AMOLED E5 panel with a diagonal of 6.56" and a resolution of 2520 x 1080 px. The display has an aspect ratio of 21:9, a brightness of 1000 nits with a maximum of 1400 nits, and there is also support for Dolby Vision technology.

Special add-on MIUI FOLD

The folding smartphone from Xiaomi runs on Android version 12 with a graphics superstructure, which this time is not the classic MIUI, but a special environment designed for folding models called MIUI FOLD in version 13.

The environment is adapted especially for the internal fold-out display and is slightly different from the classic MIUI. Overall, it looks more like the "tablet MIUI" from the Xiaomi Pad 5.

Thanks to its generous width, the home screen of the internal display can display the contents of two standard screens. In the lower part, there is room for up to 9 icons for quick access to applications.

Floating windows also find their use here, and the default keyboard is also adapted to the wide display. In its center there is a free space and the letters G and V are doubled. We don't have to stretch our thumbs all the way to the middle like this, but we write comfortably only using the area of ​​the display where we can reach. However, this feature is only available with the default Chinese keyboard and is lost when using Gboard.

There are also shortcomings

Despite the fact that the large 8.02″ display is amazing, after several days of using it, when the initial enthusiasm had already subsided, we began to notice certain shortcomings. In addition to the above-mentioned problematic aspect ratio for videos, when a larger part of the display is unused, we also encountered another problem.

This is also related to the large display and its aspect ratio. Some applications do not display correctly in full-screen mode, but this can be adjusted in the settings, where you can choose the aspect ratio for individual applications. You can choose between 4:3, 16:9 or full screen.

The problem is, for example, stories on Instagram, which are displayed in their entirety only with an aspect ratio of 16:9. Also, for some sites or applications like Facebook or Aliexpress, this aspect ratio is not the best.

When browsing products on Aliexpress, the items are too large, so you see less of them than with other aspect ratios. It's the same with posts on Facebook with a photo, which you can't see completely in full screen mode either.

Performance worthy of a premium model

The novelty is also inflated in terms of hardware, which takes care of high performance. The heart of the smartphone is the latest processor from the American company Qualcomm, Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, which I guess does not need to be introduced.

In short, it is an eight-core processor manufactured using 4 nm technology with a maximum frequency of 3.2 GHz. The processor is seconded by the Adreno 730 graphics chip and, in our case, 12 GB of LPDDR5 type RAM. The fast storage of the UFS 3.1 standard has a capacity of 256 GB. Versions with a higher internal memory capacity are also available, namely 512 GB or 1 TB.

We definitely don't have to worry about lack of performance as we have the best available right now. We also installed the AnTuTu application in this smartphone, in which we achieved a score of up to 1 points.

Cameras in cooperation with Leica

The Xiaomi MIX Fold 2 has a trio of main cameras that boast the Leica brand logo, with which Xiaomi collaborated again on this model. You can see more detailed camera parameters in the table below:

Thanks to the cooperation with Leica, we have a choice of two color modes in the camera application, similar to the case of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, Leica Authentic and Leica Vibrant.

Main camera

The main camera has the highest resolution, 50 MPx, which is also the best of the three rear cameras. Photos captured with the Sony sensor are sharp, but we are not entirely satisfied with their color rendering. especially in low light.

In the Leica Vibrant mode, the images have a warmer color rendering compared to reality, and their tones are sometimes too yellow. Photos are less contrasty and more saturated, but especially in low light. During a sunny day, the differences are less visible.

On the other hand, photos from the Leica Authentic mode often have colors closer to reality, but are more contrasty, which means that images taken in low light are often darker than we would expect. The difference can also be seen in the sky, where HDR in Leica Authentic mode often does not respond well, resulting in a completely white, burnt-out sky with no detail.

With artificial but good lighting in the interior, it gives quite good results and the differences between the mentioned modes are not great. It is somewhat worse in low artificial light or in the dark, when the Leica Authentic mode in particular creates several underexposed shots, where the details in the shadows are lost and merge into black.

The main camera of the revolutionary Xiaomi MIX Fold 2 doesn't take bad photos, but we can't even include it among the top mobile photos. The results are rather average. The camera doesn't offend, but it doesn't inspire either. As the light conditions deteriorate, the quality of the photos visibly decreases.

Ultra-Wide-angle camera and zoom

Photos from the ultra-wide-angle camera are, at first glance, significantly different in color from the main sensor. You can see it especially in colors that are cooler and closer to reality in both modes, be it Leica Vibrant or Leica Authentic

There is a little less detail due to the lower resolution, but the sharpness is still quite good. Personally, in most cases, we liked the Leica Vibrant mode photos better, due to the lower contrast. The higher contrast in Leica Authentic mode creates too dark areas, especially in poor light, when the sharpness also decreases.

The telescopic lens with 2x zoom is somewhere between the pair of already mentioned cameras in its color presentation.

Selfie and video

Xiaomi MIX Fold 2 brings a great possibility of taking selfies using the main rear cameras. If you open your smartphone, you will notice that the internal display does not have a selfie camera. If you open the camera application with the smartphone open and switch to the front camera, the application will display instructions for turning the smartphone.

Since in this position we have the external display right next to the back with the main cameras, we can take a selfie using the main, wide-angle or even telescopic lens and see ourselves on the external display. In this way, we get a significantly higher quality of photos than with the selfie camera, which is in the shot on the external display.

When shooting video, we have a maximum resolution of up to 8K, but only at 24 fps and without image stabilization. Other options include 4K at 30 or 60 fps, 1080p at 30 or 60 fps, and 1080p at 30 fps. We mostly used the 4K/60 fps resolution, which offers the smoothest image.

For video, we no longer have a choice between Leica modes. Image stabilization is available at all resolutions, but better stabilization only works at the lower resolution of 1080p/30 fps. However, even the basic stabilization is surprisingly very effective.

Night photos

Similar to other flagship models from Xiaomi, the night mode is activated automatically as needed. You can cancel its activation with one click.

Photos without night mode are usually darker and closer to reality. Night mode will bring more light into the photo, but in many cases it will worsen the sharpness of the image.

As well as during the day, you can also see different color rendering between individual cameras during night shots. On the other hand, you can hardly see any differences between the modes from Leica, so we attach photos only from the Vibrant mode.

Battery and endurance on a single charge

MIX Fold 2 from Xiaomi received a 4500 mAh battery. In connection with the large display, we were concerned about the short battery life per charge. These have been partially confirmed, but of course everything depends on the style and intensity of use. During the first days of intensive testing, we had to charge the smartphone during the day so that it would not be completely discharged at night.

On the other hand, with regular use after a long time, we only charged once a day, always before going to bed, and the battery lasted until the next evening.

As for charging, the package includes a 67 W adapter with a Chinese terminal. The TradingShenzhen seller also packed a European reduction for us. 67 W charging is a kind of golden mean among smartphones from Xiaomi. We charged the battery from 20% to 100% in about 35 minutes.

You can find the entire charging process in the table below:

Speakers and connectivity

The speakers, where we see the Harman Kardon logo again, have larger grills than usual, but this does not mean that they automatically play better. On the contrary, the speakers are not of particularly high quality and are rather average. They lack bass and we would personally welcome a higher volume. Weaker speakers are also a certain tax for a thin body.

Since the MIX Fold 2 has so far only been introduced for the domestic Chinese market, we are testing the Chinese version. But it does not lack support for all networks, including our most used 800 MHz band B20. NFC support with trouble-free payments via the Google Wallet application and WiFi in version 6 plus will also please you.

Xiaomi MIX Fold 2: Final evaluation

The new folding smartphone Xiaomi MIX Fold 2 definitely excited us and we tested it with pleasure. It offers a pair of displays - the outer 6.56" and the more interesting, inner 8.02" flexible AMOLED display. Both displays are top-notch, with a high refresh rate and beautiful rich colors.

There is a first-class Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, fast UFS 3.1 storage and fast LPDDR5 type RAM memory. MIX Fold 2 is the thinnest foldable smartphone in the world, giving it an edge over the competition. We were slightly disappointed by the performance of the camera, which boasts improvements from Leica, but it is definitely not enough for the world's top.

Best prices for Xiaomi MIX Fold 2

In connection with the atypical aspect ratio of the internal large display, we encountered several problems with the display of applications or websites, but in our case the pros clearly outweigh the cons.