Recently, the market has seen a predominance of complex smartphones. We've seen foldable phones from manufacturers like Samsung, Huawei, Royole, Motorola and even LG. The latest manufacturer to join the growing list of foldable phone makers is Xiaomi.
On March 30, the company released its first ever folding smartphone Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold. Now we will compare this device with another, new phone from Huawei. The Huawei Mate X2 is the latest foldable phone from the Chinese manufacturer. It was released in February 2021. These two foldable phones will compete, especially in the Chinese market.
Sophisticated smartphones are more complex than conventional smartphones. There are many aspects of these devices that require comparison. The display, folding mechanism and other innovations are taken into account in the comparison. In China, compatibility with GMS will not be a problem, so both devices are on a level playing field.
These devices (MIX Fold and Mate X2) are two of the oldest folding smartphones this year. Let's see how they compare.
Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold vs. Huawei Mate X2
Design
In terms of design, Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold and Huawei Mate X2 are very similar. Both devices have a complex internal structure, as well as a camera in the hole of the screen. However, while the Mate X2 uses a dual punch design, the MIX Fold comes with a single punch screen. In addition, the Mate X2 uses a double hinge for better reinforcement, the MIX Fold comes with a single hinge.
These phones are also similar in their camera module. They both have a square rear camera module. However, the Mate X2 has four sensors with an LED flash, while the MIX Fold has three. As for the screen bezel, the Mate X2 appears to have slimmer bezels than the MIX Fold.
The Huawei Mate X2 measures 161,8 x 145,8 x 8,2mm unfolded and 161,8 x 74,6 x 14,7mm when folded. This device weighs 295g. However, the MIX Fold measures 173,3 x 133,4 x 7,6mm unfolded and 173,3 x 69,8 x 17,2mm when folded. It weighs 317g for the glass model and 332g for the ceramic model. Looking at the dimensions above, the MIX Fold is thinner before folding, but thicker after folding. Xiaomi's foldable phone is also heavier than its Huawei counterpart.
Display
Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold prides itself as a folding smartphone with the largest display on the market. However, its display is only 0,01 inches larger than the screen of the Huawei Mate X2. While the former uses an 8,01-inch display, the latter has an 8-inch display.
When folded, the Huawei Mate X2 has a 6,45-inch screen, while the MIX Fold has a 6,52-inch screen. Overall, the MIX Fold has a larger screen. However, when it comes to refresh rates, the Mate X2 has the upper hand. Both displays on the Mate X2 support a 90Hz refresh rate. However, only the 6,52-inch MIX Fold display supports a 90Hz refresh rate, the 8,01-inch display only supports a 60Hz refresh rate.
The Huawei Mate X2 has more display pixels on both screens (2200 x 2480 pixels / 1160 x 2700 pixels). However, the MIX Fold also uses a very good display resolution (1860 x 2480 pixels / 840 x 2520 pixels). Overall, the Mate X2's reflectivity is slightly higher on both screens. Both phones have a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.
Hardware / software
While the Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold uses the Snapdragon 888 SoC, the Huawei Mate X2 comes with the Kirin 9000 5G chip. Although both processors are 5nm chips, the SD8888 performs slightly better than the Kirin 9000 SoC. While the SD88 uses Samsung's 5nm process, the Kirin 9000 uses TSMC's 5nm process.
In addition, the Mi MIX Fold has up to 16GB of RAM and 521GB of UFS 3.1 native storage. The Mate X2 also offers the same, only it has up to 8GB of RAM. On the software front, the MIX Fold runs MIUI 12 on top of Android 10. The Mate X2 comes with EMUI 11 on top of Android 10, without Google Play Services.
Camera
In the camera department, the MIX Fold has three sensors while the Mate X2 has four cameras. However, the number of cameras doesn't matter much these days. As for the main module, the Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold comes with a 108-megapixel Samsung GN2 main camera. It also features an 8-megapixel telephoto camera as well as a 13-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera.
For the Huawei Mate X2, the manufacturer uses a 50-megapixel main camera. It also has a 12-megapixel telephoto camera, along with an 8-megapixel periscope telephoto camera and a 16-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera. However, the MIX Fold is clearly ahead in terms of cameras. While the Mate X2 telephoto camera is equipped with a maximum 3x zoom, the MIX Fold telephoto camera supports up to 30x zoom. This is probably due to the proprietary liquid lens that the MIX Fold uses.
In addition, Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold also comes with an in-house developed ISP chip and Surge C1 chip. This further improves the display performance of this smartphone.
Battery
As for the battery, the Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold wins outright. Its battery is not only bigger, but also supports faster charging. MIX Fold has a 5020mAh battery with 67W fast charging. The Huawei Mate X2 is equipped with a 4500mAh battery that supports 55W fast charging.
Price
Perhaps the decisive factor in the choice of users will be the price. The Huawei Mate X2 is almost $1000 more expensive than the MIX Fold. While the starting price of the Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold is around $1520 (€1300), the starting price of the Mate X2 is around $2698 (€2300).
Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold vs Huawei Mate X2: pros and cons
Visnovok
These smartphones are pretty good, and if you want a foldable phone, any of them will serve you well. However, if you consider the price, the Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold wins. However, since the MIX Fold just hit the market, it will be better to wait for real reviews to test its theoretical characteristics.
