Xiaomi has unveiled the Xiaomi 18 Fold — the first mid-form-factor folding smartphone in the brand's lineup, which immediately became the company's first flagship built on its own processor. The new device weighs 219 grams, features displays with A4-format aspect ratios, and runs on the first 3-nanometer Xring O3 chip. In doing so, Xiaomi has fully dropped the Snapdragon platform in its top folding device and bet on its own silicon development.
Displays with A4 proportions and an asymmetric outer screen
Inside the smartphone there is a 7.68-inch main display, and on the outside — a 5.38-inch one. Both displays are built on the first Xiaomi HyperRGB panels with a full RGB subpixel structure, which should improve color reproduction and the readability of small text. The outer screen features a distinctive asymmetric design: the corners on the right side are rounded, while those near the hinge remain straight. In terms of thickness, the device is slightly inferior to its competitors, in particular the Samsung Galaxy Fold 8 — the manufacturer explains this by the use of a higher-capacity battery.
Xring O3: 3 nm, LPDDR6 and an accelerated NPU
The heart of the Xiaomi 18 Fold is the Xring O3 chip, manufactured using a 3-nanometer process. It includes a 10-core CPU (all cores are performance cores) and a 16-core GPU graphics accelerator. According to Xiaomi, this is the first system on a chip (SoC) with support for the latest LPDDR6 memory standard, which provides high data access speeds. The NPU neural processor, according to the manufacturer, accelerates on-device hardware decoding by 45% compared to the flagship processor of the previous generation.
Battery life, charging and Leica cameras
Despite the complex folding design, the smartphone is equipped with a silicon-carbon battery, which is the highest-capacity among devices of this form factor. It supports 67 W wired charging and 50 W wireless charging via compatible devices. Xiaomi made no compromises on the photography front: the model features a triple Leica camera system with a 200 MP main sensor. A special light-ceramic body modification based on silicon nitride has also been announced — it is more resistant to impacts and scratches and is about 50% lighter than classic zirconium dioxide ceramic. Standard versions are released in black, white and red.
Contradictory data
There are discrepancies in emphasis in publications regarding the positioning of the new device. In Xiaomi's official presentation, the Xiaomi 18 Fold is described as the "first mid-sized folding smartphone," while a number of outlets emphasize its widescreen character with A4 proportions and directly link the model to a challenge to the folding iPhone. Both descriptions do not contradict each other in terms of figures, but they reflect different marketing frames: "mid-sized" — relative to the dimensions of folding flagships, and "widescreen" — relative to the screen's aspect ratio. In addition, the stated thickness is higher than that of the Samsung Galaxy Fold 8, while the weight of 219 g remains competitive — the manufacturer explains the difference by prioritizing battery capacity over minimal thickness. The exact battery capacity figure is not disclosed uniformly in public materials.
Price and availability
The initial price of the Xiaomi 18 Fold on the domestic Chinese market is 10,999 yuan (about 1,640 USD), making the model the most expensive smartphone from the brand. At the time of publication, the device is available exclusively in China, and information about the global release and local prices will be announced later.
