In recent times, there is a preponderance of foldable smartphones in the market. We have 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. The company released its first-ever foldable smartphone, Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold yesterday. Now, we are pitching this device against another recent foldable phone from Huawei. The Huawei Mate X2 is the most recent foldable from the Chinese manufacturer. It was released in February 2021. These foldable phones will lock horns, especially in the Chinese market.
Foldable smartphones are more complex than regular smartphones. There are a lot of aspects of these devices that will need a comparison. The display, folding mechanism, and other innovations will come into the picture. In China, GMS compatibility will not be an issue thus both devices have a level playing field. These devices (MIX Fold and Mate X2) are two of the earliest foldable smartphones of this year. Let us look at how they compare with each other
Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold Vs Huawei Mate X2
Design
In terms of design, the Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold and Huawei Mate X2 are very similar. Both devices use an inward foldable design as well as a punch-hole camera. However, while the Mate X2 uses a dual punch-hole design, the MIX Fold comes with a single punch-hole screen. Furthermore, the Mate X2 uses a dual-hinge design for better fortification, the MIX Fold comes with a single hinge design. These phones are also similar in terms of their camera module. They both come with a square-ish rear camera module. However, the Mate X2 has four sensors with an LED flash while the MIX Fold has three. As for the screen bezels, the Mate X2 appears to have thinner bezels than the MIX Fold.
The Huawei Mate X2 comes with a dimension of 161.8 x 145.8 x 8.2 mm when unfolded and 161.8 x 74.6 x 14.7 mm after folding. This device also weighs 295 g. However, the MIX Fold’s unfolded dimension is 173.3 x 133.4 x 7.6 mm and 173.3 x 69.8 x 17.2 mm after folding. It also weighs 317 g for the glass model and 332 g 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 counterpart from Huawei.
Display
Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold prides itself as the foldable smartphone with the largest display in the market. However, its display is only 0.01 inch larger than the Huawei Mate X2 screen. While the former uses an 8.01-inch display, the latter comes with an 8-inch display.
After folding, 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, in terms of refresh rate, the Mate X2 has an edge. Both displays on the Mate X2 support a 90Hz refresh rate. However, only the 6.52-inch display of the MIX Fold supports a 90Hz refresh rate, the 8.01-inch display supports only a 60Hz refresh rate.
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The Huawei Mate X2 has higher 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 display ratio of the Mate X2 is a bit higher on both screens. Both phones come with a side 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 o database tests. While SD88 uses Samsung’s 5nm process, Kirin 9000 use TSMC’s 5nm process. In addition, the Mi MIX Fold has up to 16 GB of RAM and 521 GB of UFS 3.1 native storage. The Mate X2 also offers the same thing only that it has up to 8GB of RAM. In terms of software, the MIX Fold uses MIUI 12 on top of Android 10. The Mate X2 comes with EMUI 11 on top of Android 10 with no Google Play Services. If GMS is very important to you, then stop reading, the Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold already takes the day.
Camera
In the camera department, the MIX fold has three sensors while the Mate X2 has four cameras. However, the number of cameras does not really matter these days. In terms of the main shooter, the Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold comes with a 108MP Samsung GN2 main camera. It also comes with an 8MP telephoto camera as well as a 13MP ultra-wide-angle camera.
For the Huawei Mate X2, it uses a 50MP main camera. In addition, it has a 12MP telephoto camera as well as an 8MP periscope telephoto camera, and a 16MP ultrawide angle camera. However, the MIX Fold is clearly ahead in the camera department. While the Mate X2 telephoto camera comes with a maximum 3x zoom, the MIX Fold telephoto camera supports up to 30x zoom. Many thanks to the proprietary Liquid Lens which the MIX Fold uses.
In addition, the Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold also comes with a self-developed ISP chip, Surge C1 chip. This chip further improves the display performance of this smartphone.
Battery
In the battery aspect, the Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold takes a straight victory. Its battery is not only bigger, it supports faster charging. The MIX Fold supports a 5,020 mAh battery that supports 67W fast charging. For the Huawei Mate X2, it comes with a 4,500 mAh battery that supports 55W fast charging.
Price
The price will probably be the deciding factor in users’ choice. The Huawei Mate X2 is almost $1000 more expensive than the MIX Fold. While the Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold starting price is about $1,520 (1300 EUR), the Mate X2 starting price is about $2,698 (2300 EUR).
Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold Vs Huawei Mate X2: PRO and CONS
Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold
PROS
- Good Hardware
- Top Camera
- Very cheap
- Good Battery
CONS
- Old design
Huawei Mate X2
PROS
- Thinner & Lighter
- Good Hardware
- Good Display
CONS
- Smaller battery
- Very Expensive
Conclusion
These smartphones are quite good and if you need a foldable phone, any of them will serve you well. However, if you consider the price, then the Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold will take the day. However, since the MIX Fold just hit the market, it will be better to wait for real-life reviews to verify its theoretical specs.
