Xiaomi clones Galaxy Fold, makes it 40% thinner, adds bigger battery

The Xiaomi Mix Fold 2. Yes, it's slim. Xiaomi

The front and the back. Xiaomi

The specs say the device doesn't fold flat, but it comes close. Xiaomi

The back. Xiaomi

Finally, a shot with the front screen properly lit.

Why is everyone doing this X-shape with their foldables? Xiaomi

If you're disappointed by Samsung's relatively slow progress on foldables, say hello to the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2, which looks noticeably more advanced than what we saw in Samsung's announcement this week. But that's only for China, of course. Sorry.

The Mix Fold 2 closely follows the layout of the Galaxy Z Fold 4: it's a book-style foldable with a phone-like front display and a flexible tablet-like inner display . The advantage is that the device is 40% thinner when folded. We don't usually agree with the thinness craze of smartphones, but the thickness of foldables is a major concern. The 16mm thick Galaxy Z Fold really fills your pocket compared to a normal smartphone, so Xiaomi is making progress here.

The Mix Fold 2 is just 11.2mm thick when folded, with each half measuring just 5.4mm. Xiaomi's phone is considerably thinner than Samsung's, and Xiaomi also manages to fit in a slightly larger 4500mAh battery (Samsung's is 4400mAh). The thing here, aside from the fact that Samsung hasn't changed the thickness or battery capacity of the Fold for four years now, is that the Xiaomi foldable is quite a bit bigger than Samsung's. When folded, the Z Fold 4 measures 155.1mm x 67.1mm x 15.8mm, while Xiaomi's device measures 161.6mm x 73.9mm x 11.2mm. That 161.6mm x 73.9mm measurement is still less than a high-end smartphone, with an S22 Ultra measuring 163.3mm x 77.9mm x 8.9mm.

On the front, you get a 120Hz, 6.56-inch, 2520×1080 OLED display, while the interior foldable display is a 120Hz, 8.02-inch, 2160×1914 OLED. two screens are directly from Samsung Display, and the flexible screen is made of the "ultra-thin flexible glass" that Samsung launched. The flexible glass provides some rigidity to the otherwise spongy plastic screen. The outer layer should always be plastic that you can dent with a fingernail.

For specs, you get a fairly normal top-end loadout: a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, 12GB of RAM, and generous storage tiers of 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. Cameras start with a Sony IMX 766 1/1.56-inch 50 MP, then there's a 13 MP ultrawide, 8 MP 2x telephoto and 20 MP front camera. 4500mAh battery supports 67W charging.

Starting at RMB 8,999, or around $1,335, Xiaomi's biggest and best foldable is also cheaper than Samsung's. The phone will go on sale in China on August 16.

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