Xiaomi’s wide foldable design promises more power than Samsung’s

Xiaomi is the latest manufacturer to release a short and wide foldable phone; Apple is expected to do the same this week. I was able to try out the 18 Fold behind closed doors at IFA last week, and while it looks and feels quite similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, the superior specs make it feel like the kind of phone I’d like from Samsung.

The 18 Fold is Xiaomi’s first book-style foldable phone since the Mix Fold 4 in 2024, but the company has followed Huawei and Samsung in moving towards a short, squat design. However, Xiaomi’s phone goes further: it’s shorter and wider than Samsung’s, with an aspect ratio of roughly 1.4:1 on its 7.58-inch internal and 5.38-inch external screens—an almost exact match for both international paper sizes and IMAX screens, meaning it might be the only phone that can play. Odyssey without a mailbox.

In practice, however, it’s still similar to the Z Fold 8. When closed, it’s compact and fits in your pocket, and the cover is easy to use with one hand – although I expect it, too, to have issues with some apps running awkwardly on the short screen. When open, it’s a natural form factor for watching movies or reading e-books, although perhaps a little less suited for multitasking, although Xiaomi still includes both split-screen apps and floating windows with multitasking in mind.

Where Samsung may have an advantage is in build quality. The 18 Fold looks great: it’s available in black, white or bright red, as well as a special pink ceramic version that the company is producing in just 1,500 units. But it is slightly heavier and thicker than the Z Fold 8, and Xiaomi hasn’t announced any IP rating for it at all. There’s also a crease, which I think seems more noticeable than on Samsung’s foldable devices this year. Oppo remains the only company to have virtually eliminated the foldable fold on its Find N6 foldable device, and I’ll be excited to see how close Apple gets to that this week.

While my short time with the 18 Fold was focused on getting to grips with the form factor, what perhaps makes the phone stand out more is its specs. Firstly, this is the first Xiaomi phone to be equipped with its own Xring O3 chipset, which promises Snapdragon 8 Elite-level performance. It includes the debut of the Arm Mali G2-Ultra NX GPU, which brings mobile support for DLSS-style Arm graphics acceleration to Android.

But it’s not just the chip. The 6,000mAh silicon-carbon battery is significantly larger than the Samsung phone’s 4,800mAh battery, with support for 67W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. Two OLED displays provide peak brightness of up to 4000 nits. Most importantly, there is a triple rear camera setup supported by Xiaomi’s long-standing partnership with Leica: a 200-megapixel main camera with a 1/1.56-inch type sensor, a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto lens with 3.5x zoom, and a 50-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera.

I really liked the Galaxy Z Fold 8 when I reviewed it and surprised myself with how quickly I adapted to the new design. My biggest concern was the lack of a triple camera setup, which I would expect from any phone costing around $2,000. By fixing this while also improving the battery and displays, Xiaomi has made what could be my choice of foldable devices on the market right now – although the lack of an IP rating gives me pause.

Of course, the foldable market will change dramatically if Apple announces the foldable iPhone we’re all expecting tomorrow. Meanwhile, Xiaomi has thrown down the gauntlet – at least in China. The 18 Fold is available for pre-order starting at 10,999 yen (about $1,600) with official sales starting on September 10, but Xiaomi has yet to confirm whether the phone will ever see an international launch.

Photo by Dominic Preston/The Verge