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Xiaomi introduces the MIX Fold 2 as the thinnest foldable yet

The first foldable with LEICA imaging system

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Image by GadgetMatch

If motorola wants to rival Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip4 with the all-new moto razr 2022, Xiaomi steps it up even further with the MIX Fold 2 — just announced a day after the launch of its direct contender, the Galaxy Z Fold4.

The thinnest foldable (yet)

(UPDATE: the Huawei Mate X3 now holds the record for being the slimmest)

Measuring at just 5.4mm when unfolded and 11.2mm at its thickest point, the Xiaomi MIX Fold 2 might just be the thinnest foldable yet. For context, the Galaxy Z Fold4 measures around 6.3mm when it’s open and 15.8mm when closed. The trick though is that the Xiaomi foldable is just one gram lighter than its Samsung counterpart.

That being said, it has a design that’s sleek and elegant to the touch. There’s the Gorilla Glass Victus glass protection in front. Meanwhile, the inside display has Schott’s UTG flexible glass.

Image by GadgetMatch

Xiaomi also has its own hinge design with a teadrop-like inward curvature that makes less display creases and no visible hinge gaps. Along with the use of carbon fiber instead of steel, display improvements, and custom hinge mechanism processes, Xiaomi is able to achieve a slimmer device unparalleled to other existing foldables in the market today.

Consistent audiovisual experience

The Xiaomi MIX Fold 2 pioneers its 8.02-inch 2K+ Eco² OLED LTPO 2.0 display. For those unaware, it’s a new type of OLED display that’s thinner and eliminates the use of polarizer — which results to an overall brighter screen.

Image by GadgetMatch

When folded shut, the MIX Fold 2 has a 6.56-inch Full HD+ AMOLED cover display with a proper 21:9 aspect ratio. That’s 0.4-inches bigger than last year’s 6.52-inch-touting Mi Mix Fold.

Again for stark comparison, the Galaxy Z Fold4 has smaller displays at 6.2 and a 7.6-inches respectively. This explains why they have the same weight despite the MIX Fold 2 being so thin.

Image by GadgetMatch

Both displays have 120Hz refresh rates, an 8,000,000:1 contrast ratio, plus support for HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and DCI-P3 wide color gamut. Lastly, it has dual stereo speakers tuned by harman/kardon with Dolby Atmos support as well as Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Audio Wireless Certification.

The ultimate powerhouse

Just like any 2022 flagship, the MIX Fold 2 is equipped with Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset coupled with a 12GB LPDDR5 memory plus options between 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage configurations. For faster internet speeds, it supports both 5G connectivity as well as the new Wi-Fi 6 standard.

Image by GadgetMatch

For better cooling and heat dissipation, Xiaomi has supplied the MIX Fold 2 a Vapor Cooling chamber based on boron nitride white graphene. This improves the phone’s thermal conductivity by 33%.

Image by GadgetMatch

It also has a slightly bigger battery than the Z Fold4 at 4500mAh — but a downgrade from Mi Mix Fold’s 5020mAh, though. Still, it supports fast 67W turbo charging with a full-charge taking just around 40 minutes. Xiaomi says the MIX Fold 2 can last for up to 1.15 days. Unfortunately, no wireless charging functionality was indicated.

LEICA superiority

The flagship foldable experience would not be complete without a great set of cameras. The Xiaomi MIX Fold 2 rocks a 50MP f/1.8 Sony IMX766 main image sensor with a 7P lens, sensor size of 1/1.56-inches, and pixel size of 2.0μm.

That’s the same sensor used in recent devices like the ASUS Zenfone 9, Nothing Phone (1), ROG Phone 6 series, and the OnePlus 10T.

Image by GadgetMatch

Other than that, it also rocks a 13MP f/2.4 ultra-wide angle lens with a 123-degree viewing angle. Lastly, an 8MP f/2.6 2x telephoto zoom lens. As some of you are wondering, it only has a single 20MP front camera at the cover display. The inner display still doesn’t have its own front camera.

Image by GadgetMatch

To make it a whole lot better, Xiaomi has also incorporated their new LEICA partnership with lens coatings as well as new software features that made its debut on the Xiaomi 12S Ultra a while back.

Pricing and Availability

The Xiaomi MIX Fold 2 is available in two colorways: Moon Shadow Black and Star Gold.

It’s currently on-sale in China with the following prices and configuration:

  • 12GB + 256GB = CNY 8999 (US$ 1333 / S$ 1834 / ₱74,180 )
  • 12GB + 512GB = CNY 9999 (US$ 1481 / S$ 2038 / ₱82,424 )
  • 12GB + 1TB = CNY 11,999 (US$ 1777 / S$ 2445 / ₱98,910 )

This shows that the MIX Fold 2 is a lot cheaper than the Galaxy Z Fold4 both in China (CNY 13,999 / 14,999 / 16,999) as well as outside the Mainland (US$ 1999 / S$ 2398 / ₱98,990).

And just like last year, it’s only currently available in China with no word about global availability.

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Xiaomi is making it easier for customers in the PH to shop

Xiaomi launches Mi.com online store

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Xiaomi has officially launched its Mi.com online store in the Philippines. This standalone website offers a more direct and centralized shopping experience, as Xiaomi has shifted away from third-party marketplaces.

The dedicated platform serves as a one-stop destination for the entire Xiaomi ecosystem. This includes the brand’s smartphones, smart home devices, and even the POCO lineup.

For instance, there’s the REDMI Note 15 Pro 5G, Xiaomi Smart Band 10, and Xiaomi Sound Party, among others.

The move marks a significant transition for Xiaomi’s consumers in the market. The brand mentioned wanting to deliver a smarter, more rewarding digital shopping experience tailored for Filipino consumers.

Moreover, customers do not have to worry about the presence of discount vouchers or a reward system, as the Mi.com website has these integrated. That way, customers will still find a great value for direct purchases.

Here’s a quick rundown of Xiaomi’s exclusive offers to celebrate the announcement of a standalone site:

  • Launch-Exclusive Vouchers: 10% off coupons on selected inventory, tiered discounts based on total purchase value
  • Daily Flash Sales: Two high-traffic windows are scheduled daily from 10:00 AM to 12:00 NN and 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
  • Enhanced Loyalty Rewards: new Xiaomi Account sign-ups receive 50 Mi Points (1 Mi Point = PhP 1); during launch window, all purchases earn double points, which can be redeemed for future cashbacks
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Netflix expands its cheaper ad-supported tier to Southeast Asia

This also includes more countries in Europe and South America.

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If you don’t care about seeing a deluge of ads on your platforms, you’re an incredibly rare breed these days. That same skill will come in handy for those nicely priced subscription tiers that comes with ads. Netflix, for one, has one of those tiers, and it’s now coming out in more countries.

As is prevalent in other platforms today, an ad-supported subscription tier lowers the price you have to pay every month. The catch, however, is that there will be an occasional sprinkling of ads here and there.

Netflix offers this service, which allows subscribers to get the service for cheap at the expense of their time. Currently, it is limited to only a few major markets in the world. However, the platform is expanding the tier’s reach to more countries in Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia.

Starting in 2027, Netflix’s ad-supported tier will expand to 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Indonesia, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and Thailand.

Netflix says that the ad-supported tier is a popular option for subscribers. Currently, the tier has around 250 million subscribers worldwide. Since some of the new countries have a more budget-conscious attitude when it comes to purchasing services, this number will likely go up after the expansion in 2027.

SEE ALSO: Netflix does the unthinkable: Mayweather-Pacquiao II set for September

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Google might limit free storage to only 5GB

The change will affect new users.

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Google One is a monthly subscription that gives you at least 200GB of cloud storage for your files and photos. For most people, a Google One subscription starts when Google inevitably tells them that their free storage space is running out and will soon stop backing up files. Starting today, new users might get that warning sooner rather than later as Google tests a lower limit to free storage.

Historically, Google offers users 15GB of free storage as a start. However, especially these days, 15GB can run out rapidly, prompting a Google One upgrade. Still, despite how “little” it is, Google’s free storage is generous compared to its contemporaries.

Now, Google is reportedly going to be more at par with the rest. As spotted on Reddit (via 9to5Google), new users will receive only 5GB of free storage. Based on Wayback Machine, the company changed its policy sometime between February to March.

Notably, 15GB is still available as an option, but users have to link their phone numbers to their accounts first.

According to Google, the policy change is meant to encourage users to upgrade their security. However, critics will point out that it just enables the company to collect more data about their users. Of note, the platform is already pushy about linking phone numbers before the change, but this adds another layer to entice people.

Also, Google confirms that the new policy is only a regional test for now. They have not announced when (or if) the change comes out for real.

SEE ALSO: Gmail now makes it easy to unsubscribe from all marketing emails

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