Xiaomi Mix Fold 2: Samsung’s monopoly on foldable phones coming to an end?

When Xiaomi launched the Mi Mix Fold last year, my feelings about it were quite mixed. No much drama there - it was Xiaomi's first foldable phone, and like every first-gen device, it truly looked like one. It wasn't as bad as Samsung's very first attempt, but it was even thicker, heavier, and its software was even less polished primetime-ready...

Speaking of the Galaxy Z Fold, it's no secret that it took Samsung quite a few attempts to reach the current form of the Fold. As you'll read in our Galaxy Z Fold 4 review, this is by far the most refined foldable phone Samsung's ever made, but even despite that, it still has some apparent shortcomings like a very obvious crease, a hinge that doesn't allow it to fold completely, and a noticeably thicker body when compared to a slab phone. 

Well, completely by coincidence (not!) Xiaomi has decided to rejoin the foldable party by announcing (just a day after the Galaxy Z Fold 4) what, in my opinion, could be one of the most important phones we've seen since the original iPhone. I know, I know… that's a stretch, but hear me out.

Let's talk about the week-old Xiaomi Mix 2 Fold simply because it's a device that deserves to be talked about. But also because it happens to change my view on inner-folding phones - something that no Samsung, Huawei, Honor, or Vivo foldable has managed to do! 

Despite selling out in 5 minutes in China, the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 won't be sold globally, helping Samsung to maintain its monopoly on the foldable phone market

First things first, as it stands, it doesn't look like the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 will be sold outside of China. That's great news for Samsung, allowing the South Korean giant to maintain its monopolistic grip on foldable phones around the world, as Xiaomi won't be putting any pressure on TM Roh & Co outside of China, where the Mix Fold 2 sold out in 5 minutes after going on sale.

On the flip side, the absence of the Mix Fold 2 from the global scene is terrible news for us, the consumers and tech enthusiasts, who are hoping for better and more affordable foldable phones to become mainstream quicker. We need the competition to wake up. ASAP.

It's very obvious that Samsung is in a comfort zone, where nobody is bothering it to push foldable phone innovation. That doesn't mean the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is a bad foldable phone at all. It simply means it's certainly not as good as it could've been if Samsung had the likes of Huawei and Xiaomi breathing down its neck.