Xiaomi has formally launched its first-ever “mid-size” book-style foldable smartphone, the Xiaomi 18 Fold, according to Engadget. The device combines a 7.68-inch foldable display with a 5.38-inch outer display in a squished passport-style aspect ratio. According to GSMArena.com, pre-orders have opened in China with official sales expected to begin on September 10, priced starting at 10,999 yuan (roughly $1,640). At 219g, it is the lightest foldable the company has ever made, though Xiaomi has not yet confirmed whether the device will be available outside the Chinese market.
Xiaomi Launches the 18 Fold With In-House XRING 03 Silicon
The handset arrives with a distinctive form factor featuring an asymmetric notepad look on the front display, where the right edge corners are curved while the hinge-edge corners are square. Both screens top out at 4,000 nits peak brightness, support 1-120Hz LTPO adaptive refresh rates, and feature Xiaomi’s HyperRGB panel with a full RGB subpixel structure. The outer display is protected by Xiaomi’s Shield Glass 3.0. When folded, the smartphone measures 117.8 x 83.6 x 10.68 mm, and when unfolded it measures 117.8 x 163.8 x 5.02 mm.
Powerful In-House Silicon and Battery Performance
A major milestone for the device is its use of Xiaomi’s first in-house flagship silicon chip, the XRING 03. Built on a 3nm process, the chip combines a 10-core all-big-core CPU with a 16-core GPU, alongside an Arm Mali G2-Ultra NX graphics processor. According to Engadget, the processor supports LPDDR6 RAM for faster memory access, delivering 45 percent faster on-device decoding performance on the NPU than the previous-generation flagship processor.
Storage and memory configurations range across multiple tiers:
- 12GB RAM with 256GB storage priced at CNY 10,999 ($1,638)
- 12GB RAM with 512GB storage priced at CNY 11,999 ($1,787)
- 16GB RAM with 512GB storage priced at CNY 12,999 ($1,936)
- 16GB RAM with 1TB storage priced at CNY 14,999 ($2,234)
- Ceramic special edition (16GB RAM and 1TB storage) priced at CNY 15,999 ($2,383)
To keep the device powered, Xiaomi included a 6,000 mAh silicon-carbon battery with 20% silicon content, which supports up to 67W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. The smartphone runs HyperOS 4 based on Android 17 and includes a side-mounted fingerprint scanner embedded in the power button, plus stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support.
Leica Triple-Camera System and Global Market Outlook
Despite its compact passport shape, the device packs a Leica triple-camera system on the rear. The setup features a main 200MP camera using a 1/1.56-inch Samsung ISOCELL HP5 sensor, a 50MP periscope telephoto camera offering 3.5x optical zoom and 160mm 7x in-sensor lossless zoom, and a 50MP ultrawide camera. Additionally, a 16MP selfie snapper is located on each screen.
The Xiaomi 18 Fold is available in black, red, Warm Gold, and a ceramic special edition. While it enters the market as a wide-style foldable competitor during the IFA exhibition season, Xiaomi has not announced a water and dust resistance rating, and the company has no current plans to sell the device outside of China.
