As Apple prepares for its September 9, 2026 product event, Chinese manufacturers Huawei and Xiaomi have unveiled new foldable devices featuring passport-style dimensions and proprietary processors, driving intense competition in the premium smartphone market and setting the stage for Apple’s anticipated entry into the foldable category.
The global smartphone arena is experiencing a high-stakes competitive shift in the premium tier. Major manufacturers have accelerated their bets on foldable hardware just days before Apple holds a closely watched product showcase scheduled for September 9, 2026.
While Cupertino prepares what could be one of its most significant design transformations since the original iPhone, competitors in China and South Korea have already accumulated years of engineering experience in hinges, display durability, and foldable software adaptation. Rather than waiting for the American giant to set the pace, leading brands have chosen to seize the spotlight first. Huawei and Xiaomi unveiled new generations of their foldable phones on Monday, September 7, just two days before Apple’s event, increasing pressure on the U.S. company.
Xiaomi 18 Fold Emerges as a Passport-Style Challenger
Xiaomi made a direct play for the premium market by officially introducing the Xiaomi 18 Fold, marking the company’s first wide-screen, mid-size foldable device. When folded, the device measures 117.8 by 83.6 millimeters, dimensions that Xiaomi explicitly compares to a passport. When unfolded, it offers a 7.58-inch inner display, while its weight remains at 219 grams and its unfolded thickness is just 5.02 millimeters. The form factor closely mirrors the design language of Samsung Electronics’ passport-style foldable phone.
The hardware relies heavily on domestic components within China, running on memory from homegrown champion CXMT Corp. and powered by the XRING O3 mobile application processor. Developed entirely in-house by Xiaomi using a 3-nanometer process and featuring 24 billion transistors, the chip represents a departure from Xiaomi’s historical reliance on outside suppliers such as Qualcomm and MediaTek. The device features an external OLED screen of 5.38 inches with a resolution of 1712 by 1168 pixels, a 120Hz refresh rate, and a 300Hz touch sampling rate. When opened, it reveals an AMOLED inner screen measuring 7.58 inches with a resolution of 1672 by 2364 pixels, a 120Hz refresh rate, a 240Hz touch sampling rate, and a peak brightness of 4,000 nits, protected by UTG glass.
Photography capabilities include a 200-megapixel Leica main camera. The device also includes an internal camera integrated into the main screen at the upper right corner with narrow bezels and a relatively high protective layer for better durability during folding, alongside a side-mounted fingerprint sensor integrated into the power button. Backed by a 6,000 mAh battery supporting 67W wired charging, 50W wireless charging, and 50W wired charging via the PPS standard, the phone comes in four colors: black, a special ceramic edition, gold, and red.
The Xiaomi 18 Fold was unveiled at IFA 2026, Europe’s largest consumer electronics trade show held in Berlin, Germany, before its rollout at an autumn product launch event in China.
Huawei Counters With the Trifold Mate XT2
While Xiaomi focused on a compact passport-style form factor, Huawei pushed engineering complexity further with the introduction of its ultra-premium trifold device, the Mate XT2, which has two folding mechanisms. As the successor to the Mate XT released two years ago, this new device advances the complexity of engineering and combines a regular smartphone and a large-screen tablet into one. It is the first to feature Huawei’s new LogicFolding chip design philosophy, as the company seeks novel ways to advance performance.
Market Dynamics and Counterpoint Projections
The timing of these simultaneous Chinese rollouts is strategic. By launching hardware just days before Apple’s media event, manufacturers hope to capture industry attention and solidify their standing in the high-end tier. In China, foldables have been a resilient bright spot in an otherwise declining market, while Xiaomi’s profit has declined for three consecutive quarters as the company worked to reduce shipments of unprofitable low-end devices, and Huawei has continued to post shipment growth.
Industry analysts expect Apple’s impending entry to fundamentally reshape adoption rates. Counterpoint analyst Ivan Lam noted that Apple maintains the largest installed base of premium devices globally, and he added that its foldable device would achieve strong sales and quickly capture market share. He expects the new handset to spur wider adoption among consumers, with spillover effects that also lift demand for rivals’ devices as well.
