๐ฅ Happy Friday! Itโs still pretty hot and miserable, and I donโt know about you but Iโm ready for summer to be over. I simply cannot reconcile my desire to be eco-friendly with my need to turn on the air conditioning.
Xiaomiโs second-gen foldable Mix Fold 2
The internet is abuzz with news about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4, but over on the other side of the planet, Xiaomi announced a fairly compelling alternative.
- The Mix Fold 2 comes more than a year after the first model and with several key improvements.
- There are the obvious spec enhancements, like a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, 67W charging, 120Hz LTPO internal display, and 120HZ AMOLED external display.
- It runs a custom UI called MIUI Fold 13, based on Android 12. Like the Z Fold 4, it has a taskbar and multiwindow enhancements baked in.
- However, the big departure here is size: it comes in at just 5.4mm thick when unfolded, or 11.2mm when folded.
- Compared to the Z Fold 4 at 6.3mm and 15.8mm, thatโs incredibly slim for a foldable.
- Itโs also priced pretty competitively. It starts at 8,999 yuan (~$1,336), which is more than $100 cheaper than its predecessor.
- Thatโs also a lot less than the Z Fold 4โs starting price of $1,799.
The bad news
- For now, there are no indications that the device will see a global release.
- The first Mix Fold never made it out of China, and Xiaomi has always prioritized the Chinese market over everything else for its products.
- Still, thereโs a small chance the Mix Fold 2 at least makes it to Europe, where Xiaomi gained a significant foothold last year.
- If it does, it might give the Z Fold 4 a run for its money, which would be great because, for now, Samsung is the only player in the game.
- On the (Z) flipside, the only competitor is the Motorola Razr 2022, which was also just announced, and is also a China exclusive.
- It starts at 6,000 Chinese yuan (~$888), which is again cheaper than the Samsung alternative.
Roundup
๐ค While weโre on the topic of foldables, Samsung made screen repair so cheap it could change your mind on the budding tech. Itโs up to 90% cheaper (Android Authority).
๐ฟ Get ready for the weekend with the best new streaming TV shows and movies. Personally, Iโll be watching Prey (Android Authority).
Iโd like to complain about the heat just a bit more, but this time with an educational spin! A meteorologist from the University of Reading put together a little experiment to show the dangers of flooding after periods of intense heat.
Essentially, the wet and normal grass absorbed water at a fairly quick pace, while the very dry ground barely budged. In practical terms, this shows why thereโs a big danger of flash flooding after a sudden deluge of rain.
You can watch the full gif here, but I highly recommend you also check out the comments. There are lots of insights from hydrologists, geologists, and other science nerds if you want to learn more.
ย
