Xiaomi 18 Fold unveiled – brand’s most expensive smartphone
Xiaomi unveiled the Xiaomi 18 Fold in China – a foldable smartphone of a new “mid-size” format for the brand, which is passport-sized when folded. The model has become Xiaomi’s most expensive smartphone; the base version starts at $1639.
Design and Displays
The Xiaomi 18 Fold is noticeably wider than conventional book-style foldable smartphones. Its external 5.38-inch and internal 7.58-inch displays feature aspect ratios of approximately 2:1, close to that of a standard sheet of paper. In the folded state, the device measures 117,8 × 83,6 × 10,68 mm; when unfolded, it measures 117,8 × 163,8 × 5,02 mm. The weight is 219 grams.
Both panels use LTPO OLED technology with a full RGB pixel structure instead of PenTile, support adaptive refresh rates from 1-120 Hz, DC Dimming, and peak brightness up to 4000 nits at APL 30%. The internal screen resolution is 2364 × 1672 pixels, with a touch sampling rate of 240 Hz. The external panel has a resolution of 1712 × 1168 pixels and a touch sampling rate up to 300 Hz.
The internal screen is protected by a two-layer ultra-thin glass UTG. Xiaomi states the average fold depth is no more than 30 micrometers. The external display and rear panel are covered with Xiaomi Dragon Crystal Glass 3.0.
The new-generation hinge uses a three-stage lever system. The frame is made from 7-series aluminum alloy. According to Xiaomi, the design withstands drops of up to 1.2 meters, though this is a manufacturer claim rather than an independent test result. The body protection meets IP58/IP59 standards.
The standard version is available in black, Xiye Red, and Warm Gold White. A separate Ceramic Special Edition with a silicon nitride ceramic body is also offered. According to Xiaomi, this material is approximately 50% lighter than traditional ceramics.
Performance
The Xiaomi 18 Fold is the first to use the proprietary 3-nanometer XRing O3 processor. It features a 10-core CPU and G2-Ultra NX graphics. Xiaomi claims the chip scores over 5.2 million points in AnTuTu, with performance gains of up to CPU reaching 60% and up to GPU reaching 85% compared to the XRing O1. These figures were provided by the company itself.
NPU delivers up to 200 TOPS in INT8 operations and is designed, among other things, for local execution of the Xiaomi MiMo model.
The smartphone is offered with 12 or 16 GB of RAM and a UFS 4.1 storage drive up to 1 TB. LPDDR6 is used in the 16 GB RAM and 1 TB storage versions. Memory bandwidth reaches 113.8 GB/s. Lower configurations do not include LPDDR6, although preliminary materials from Xiaomi presented this feature as a characteristic of the model as a whole.
Cameras
The main camera was developed in collaboration with Leica and includes three sensors:
- 200 MP – main sensor with a 1/1,56-inch format, Leica Summilux lens with an equivalent focal length of 23 mm and an aperture of f/1.7, optical stabilization;
- 50 MP – ultra-wide camera with an equivalent focal length of 17 mm and an aperture of f/2.4;
- 50 MP periscope telephoto camera with an equivalent focal length of 80 mm, f/2.8 aperture, optical stabilization, and 3.5x optical zoom.
For video calls, two 16-MP cameras with an f/2.2 aperture are provided: one is located in the external screen, and the other is in the internal screen.
The main camera records video up to 8K at 24 fps and 4K at up to 60 fps. Slow-motion recording is also available in 1080p and 720p.
Battery
The chassis accommodates a Xiaomi Jinshajiang battery with a capacity of 6000 mAh. It uses a two-layer design, with silicon content reaching 20% and a stated energy density of 920 Wh/L.
Wired charging up to 67 W and wireless charging up to 50 W are supported. Connection uses USB Type-C with a USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface.
Software and connectivity
The Xiaomi 18 Fold runs on HyperOS 4 and supports the local Xiaomi MiMo model. For its large internal display, the company has adapted multitasking, split-screen functionality, and multi-app operation.
Wireless interfaces include Wi-Fi 7 with 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz bands, Bluetooth 6.0, NFC, and UWB. The device supports dual nanoSIM cards, 5G networks, and satellite navigation systems GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and NavIC. A fingerprint scanner is integrated into the power button, along with facial recognition and stereo speakers.
Prices and release date
The Xiaomi 18 Fold is currently available only for the Chinese market:
- 12 GB + 256 GB – 10,999 yuan (≈ $1639);
- 12 GB + 512 GB – 11,999 yuan (≈ $1788);
- 16 GB + 512 GB – 12,999 yuan (≈ $1937);
- 16 GB + 1 TB, LPDDR6 – 14,999 yuan (≈ $2235);
- 16 GB + 1 TB, LPDDR6, Ceramic Special Edition – ¥15,999 (≈ $2384).
The ceramic version is limited to a run of 1,500 units. Sales of the Xiaomi 18 Fold in China will begin on September 10. The company has not yet announced a global release.
