Xiaomi will launch its 18 Fold smartphone on September 7 in China, beating Apple’s expected foldable iPhone debut by 48 hours and introducing the company’s first in-house 3-nanometer chip, according to tech-ish and MobileMall.
A “Mid-Fold” Design and In-House Chip
The 18 Fold pairs a 5.38-inch cover screen with a 7.58-inch inner display, a shape Xiaomi president Lu Weibing has described as “mid-fold,” positioning it between the taller book-style foldables and shorter flip phones. Xiaomi says it expects the format to become a common direction for the category.
The phone is powered by the Xring O3, Xiaomi’s first self-developed chip built on TSMC’s 3-nanometer process with 24 billion transistors, and it is also the first phone to ship with CXMT’s new LPDDR6 memory. Pre-launch Geekbench listings show up to 16GB of RAM running Android 17.
Timed to Land Before Apple
Xiaomi displayed the 18 Fold behind glass at IFA 2026 in Berlin this week before confirming the September 7 launch date, alongside the Pad 9 Pro Max tablet and a family of extended range electric SUVs. Apple is separately expected to unveil its first foldable iPhone at a September 9 event, meaning Xiaomi’s launch lands two days earlier.
The 18 Fold’s rounded corners give it a design that sits closer in the hand than Samsung’s squarer Galaxy Z Fold8, though the rounding leaves the cover screen looking asymmetrical, with one curved edge and one squared-off side.
Pricing and global availability have not been confirmed, though Xiaomi’s previous foldable flagships have typically arrived in international markets several weeks to a few months after their China debut. The launch adds to a busy week for the foldable phone category, with both Xiaomi and Apple set to introduce competing designs within days of each other.
The 18 Fold’s early arrival also gives Xiaomi first crack at reviewers and early adopters before Apple’s event dominates tech coverage later in the month. Analysts say the timing is likely deliberate, positioning Xiaomi as a foldable pioneer just as Apple prepares to enter the category for the first time with its own book-style design.
The Xring O3 also marks a strategic milestone for Xiaomi, reducing its reliance on Qualcomm and MediaTek chipsets for flagship devices and following a path similar to Apple’s own move to custom silicon years earlier.
