The Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold marked the company’s foray into the foldable segment earlier this year. Now, a new Xiaomi foldable has made its way to the USPTO in the form of a patent listing. Although there’s no name attached to this mystery foldable, this is likely going to be known as the Mi MIX Fold 2.
The patent listing (via MySmartPrice) offers a decent look at the smartphone’s design and other attributes. Images show that the Mi MIX Fold 2 could utilize a folding mechanism similar to the Galaxy Z Fold lineup. The company is also seemingly using a hinge to support the foldable screen.
Xiaomi is also working on a clamshell foldable similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip series
Interestingly, one of the images also shows a smart stylus, hinting at a Samsung-style approach to foldables. Moreover, we can see that the stylus is magnetically attached to the phone on the left edge. The device also has the solitary power button and the volume keys on the right-hand side.
It’s worth pointing out that Xiaomi hasn’t offered any information about this mystery foldable, so it’s unclear when this device would arrive. But assuming this is the successor to the Mi MIX Fold, it could break cover by March 2022. The patent listing doesn’t provide details on the hardware specifications or the device’s name. But we’re hoping to learn more about this attractive foldable in the months to come.
The first-gen Mi MIX Fold made its way to China this year, though it hasn’t seen a wider release. It offered an 8.01-inch QHD+ screen and a 6.52-inch fullHD+ secondary display. The foldable is powered by the Snapdragon 888 chipset while offering 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM. Another key highlight of the Mi MIX Fold is the 5,020mAh battery that supports 67W fast wired charging. Oddly, the device doesn’t support wireless charging.
Ahead of the potential Mi MIX Fold successor, the company is gearing up to launch the Xiaomi 12 and 12 Pro. Both variants would feature Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset and the company’s MIUI 13 software. The device will arrive in China first, while global markets will follow some weeks later.
In related news, Xiaomi is supposedly developing a clamshell foldable that resembles the Galaxy Z Flip lineup. Leaks have shown that this foldable could offer dual cameras on the back and a smaller screen for notifications and other tasks.
2021-12-29 15:07:57