Xiaomi is making a bold move into the passport-style foldable smartphone market, a battleground where Samsung Electronics and Apple are set to clash. The company unveiled the Xiaomi 18 Fold, which shares a similar form factor with Samsung Electronics' passport-style foldable phone. Image generated with ChatGPT.
Xiaomi is making a bold move into the passport-style foldable smartphone market, a battleground where Samsung Electronics and Apple are set to clash. The company unveiled the Xiaomi 18 Fold, which shares a similar form factor with Samsung Electronics' passport-style foldable phone. Image generated with ChatGPT.

Xiaomi has thrown down the gauntlet in the passport-style foldable smartphone market, a segment fast becoming a battleground between Samsung Electronics and Apple. The Chinese company unveiled the Xiaomi 18 Fold, a new device with a form factor closely resembling Samsung Electronics' passport-style foldable phone.

With Apple also preparing to launch its first foldable phone, competition in the foldable market — currently dominated by Samsung Electronics — is expected to intensify. The industry is watching closely to see whether Xiaomi, long dismissed in South Korea as a brand that "can't sell even one unit a day" and bought only for its low prices, can stage a comeback with this new device.

According to IT industry sources, Xiaomi unveiled the Xiaomi 18 Fold at IFA 2026, Europe's largest consumer electronics trade show, held in Berlin, Germany.

Xiaomi is also expected to put the Xiaomi 18 Fold front and center at its autumn product launch event in China on Monday. The move follows a pattern of first building awareness at a major European trade show before rolling out the device in its home market.

A promotional image of the Xiaomi 18 Fold. [Provided by Xiaomi]
A promotional image of the Xiaomi 18 Fold. [Provided by Xiaomi]

The device is powered by the XRING O3, a mobile application processor Xiaomi designed in-house. The XRING O3 is the company's latest chip, built on a 3-nanometer process. Xiaomi has historically relied on processors from outside suppliers such as Qualcomm and MediaTek.

The phone also incorporates LPDDR6 DRAM from CXMT, a Chinese memory chip maker. By equipping the device with both a cutting-edge processor and the latest memory chip, Xiaomi is squarely targeting the premium market.

The phone also adopts a new passport-style aspect ratio — the same form factor Samsung introduced with the Galaxy Z Fold 8.

With Xiaomi now entering the passport-style foldable segment on the heels of Samsung, the industry is watching whether the brand can recover ground in the South Korean market. Xiaomi established a local subsidiary in South Korea last year and has been stepping up its push into the market, opening physical stores to expand its reach among domestic consumers. The company aims to grow its influence in the premium segment by leveraging a foldable phone equipped with its own processor and the latest memory chip.

The XRING O3, Xiaomi's in-house developed chip. [Provided by Xiaomi]
The XRING O3, Xiaomi's in-house developed chip. [Provided by Xiaomi]

Apple is also set to unveil its first foldable phone in the second half of this year. The company will hold a product launch event Wednesday and is expected to reveal its first foldable iPhone, tentatively known as the "iPhone Fold." The device is reported to feature a passport-style foldable design similar to the Samsung Electronics Galaxy Z Fold 8.

With Samsung Electronics, Apple and Xiaomi all bringing foldable devices to market, competition in the segment is expected to grow fiercer.

Market research firm Counterpoint Research projected that Apple's entry into the market will drive global foldable smartphone shipments up 20 percent year-on-year this year. Apple is forecast to capture a 28 percent share of the global foldable phone market in its first year of entry.


chami@heraldcorp.com