Xiaomi launches iPhone Ultra rival just two days before Apple’s foldable iPhone debut

Xiaomi has unveiled a new book-style foldable smartphone just two days before Apple is expected to enter the foldable market with its first folding iPhone.

The Xiaomi 18 Fold was announced in China on Monday, giving the company a new flagship designed around a wide folding display and putting it directly into the same premium category Apple is expected to target with the iPhone Ultra.

The timing is particularly notable. Apple will hold its “Surprise and shine” special event on Wednesday, September 9, where the company is expected to introduce its first foldable iPhone alongside the iPhone 18 Pro lineup.

The Xiaomi 18 Fold has a 5.38-inch outer display and a 7.58-inch folding display on the inside. Both panels support refresh rates of up to 120Hz, while Xiaomi claims peak brightness of 4,000 nits.

Xiaomi has also developed a redesigned hinge for the device, which it calls the “Dragon Bone” hinge. The phone is available in four finishes, including a limited Ceramic Special Edition.

Inside, the 18 Fold uses Xiaomi’s Xring O3 processor, a 3nm chip with a 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU. Xiaomi is making significant performance and efficiency claims for the new silicon as it increasingly develops more of the technology used inside its own flagship devices.

The camera system could provide an interesting point of comparison with Apple’s foldable. Xiaomi has fitted the 18 Fold with three rear cameras developed with Leica, including a 200-megapixel Main camera, 50-megapixel Ultra Wide and 50-megapixel periscope Telephoto with 3.5x optical zoom.

By comparison, Apple’s iPhone Ultra is expected to use a two-camera rear system without a dedicated Telephoto lens, one of several compromises Apple is reportedly making to achieve the extremely thin design of its first foldable.

Xiaomi has also managed to fit a 6,000mAh battery inside the 18 Fold, with support for 67W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. The device runs HyperOS 4.

Pricing starts at 10,999 yuan for a model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, equivalent to roughly $1,640. Higher-capacity configurations reach 14,999 yuan, while the limited Ceramic Special Edition costs 15,999 yuan.

That could leave Xiaomi significantly undercutting Apple at the lower end. Apple’s foldable iPhone is expected to cost more than $2,000, potentially making it the most expensive iPhone the company has released.

Apple is expected to take a somewhat different approach to the form factor, with reports pointing to a roughly 5.5-inch external display and 7.8-inch internal display, a wide passport-style shape, an A20 Pro chip and a hinge engineered to make the display crease as difficult to see as possible.

People inside Apple who have reportedly used the iPhone Ultra have praised its pocketable design, large internal display and hinge, with the device expected to become the headline announcement at Wednesday’s event.

For now, Xiaomi has only announced the 18 Fold for China and has not confirmed whether the device will be sold internationally.