Xiaomi has launched its most premium smartphone yet, the Xiaomi 18 Fold, combining a new passport-style folding design with its in-house XRING O3 AI processor, a 200MP Leica camera and a 6,000mAh battery.
The price of Xiaomi 18 Fold starts at 10,999 yuan, or about $1,540 based on Xiaomi’s launch conversion, and reaches 14,999 yuan, or about $2,100, for the highest mainstream configuration. The pricing puts Xiaomi into direct competition with premium foldable smartphones from Huawei and Samsung while positioning the device against Apple’s high-end iPhone portfolio.
Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun described the latest device as using a medium-fold solution, designed to remain approximately passport-sized when closed while creating a tablet-like workspace when unfolded. Xiaomi has particularly emphasized multitasking, allowing users to operate three applications side by side.
Xiaomi 18 Fold Price and Storage Options
The Xiaomi 18 Fold is available in multiple memory and storage configurations:
A special 16GB + 1TB Ceramic Limited Edition has also been reported at 15,999 yuan, with production limited to 1,500 units. The standard models come in red, warm gold-white and black finishes.
The Xiaomi 18 Fold opened for pre-orders following its September 7 launch, with sales in China scheduled to begin on September 10, 2026.
Pricing is particularly important because memory costs have become a bigger component of flagship smartphone bills. Lei Jun acknowledged the pressure, saying memory is currently “very, very expensive,” while arguing that the Xiaomi 18 Fold still offers value for money.
XRING O3 Brings Xiaomi’s Own AI Silicon to Its Flagship
One of the biggest changes is inside the phone. Xiaomi has equipped the 18 Fold with its XRING O3, its latest in-house flagship AI processor.
The 3nm processor reportedly combines a 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU and dedicated NPU. Xiaomi claims the chip delivers a 60 percent improvement in multi-core CPU performance while cutting power consumption by 25 percent under medium and lighter workloads. GPU performance is claimed to improve by 85 percent while power consumption falls 64 percent.
Lei Jun also claimed that XRING O3 delivers better responsiveness than Apple’s A19 Pro, highlighting Xiaomi’s ambition to reduce its reliance on third-party processors and compete more directly at the semiconductor level with Apple.
The processor is particularly significant for AI workloads. Xiaomi says its NPU provides 200 TOPS of tensor computing performance, supporting on-device AI and the company’s increasingly AI-focused HyperOS software environment.
CXMT LPDDR6 Memory Is Another Major Feature
The Xiaomi 18 Fold also represents an important milestone for China’s semiconductor industry.
The top model uses advanced LPDDR6 DRAM supplied by China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies, or CXMT. Reuters earlier reported that CXMT would supply LPDDR6 for Xiaomi’s new foldable, less than a year after the Chinese memory manufacturer moved its previous LPDDR5 generation into mass production.
The development gives Xiaomi another domestically developed component alongside its XRING processor.
CXMT’s progress has been rapid. The company reported that first-half 2026 revenue surged 874 percent year over year to 150.3 billion yuan ($22.36 billion) amid strong memory demand and higher prices.
The combination of a Xiaomi-designed processor and CXMT memory therefore makes the 18 Fold strategically different from many earlier Chinese premium smartphones that depended heavily on foreign semiconductor technology.
7.58-inch Foldable Display with 4,000-Nit Brightness
Xiaomi has equipped the phone with a 7.58-inch internal foldable OLED display and 5.38-inch external OLED screen.
Both displays support LTPO adaptive refresh rates from 1Hz to 120Hz and peak brightness of up to 4,000 nits under specified conditions. Their aspect ratios are close to the √2:1 proportions commonly associated with standard paper formats.
The wider external screen is intended to make the Xiaomi 18 Fold more practical as a conventional smartphone when closed. Xiaomi says its on-screen keyboard is 8 percent wider than on a typical 6.9-inch bar-style smartphone.
When opened, the wider display is designed for productivity as well as entertainment. The software can support multiple applications and Xiaomi’s enhanced multitasking environment reportedly enables as many as six split-screen windows in supported scenarios.
Xiaomi 18 Fold Weighs Just 219 Grams
Despite the two-display design and large battery, Xiaomi has kept weight to 219 grams.
The device measures 5.02mm thick when unfolded and 10.68mm when folded. Lei Jun used the launch to emphasize that the handset is lighter than Apple’s iPhone Pro Max, despite providing a substantially larger working display when opened.
Durability has also received attention. Xiaomi uses its new-generation Dragon Bone Hinge, a dual-layer ultra-thin glass structure for the foldable display and Dragon Crystal Glass 3.0 for protection.
Xiaomi says the design went through 492 structural optimizations following environmental and simulation testing. The company also claims resistance against drops from up to 1.2 metres under its testing conditions.
200MP Leica Camera Targets Premium Smartphone Buyers
Camera hardware is another area where Xiaomi is trying to ensure buyers do not have to compromise because they choose a foldable.
The Xiaomi 18 Fold features a Leica-branded triple rear camera system led by a 200MP main camera with optical image stabilization.
It is joined by a 50MP ultra-wide camera and 50MP periscope telephoto camera offering 3.5x optical zoom and OIS. The phone can record video at up to 8K resolution. There are also 16MP cameras associated with the inner and outer displays.
The camera configuration puts the 18 Fold closer to Xiaomi’s conventional flagship phones rather than treating imaging as a secondary feature of the foldable format.
6,000mAh Battery with 67W Charging
A major technical challenge for thin foldables is fitting enough battery capacity into the available space. Xiaomi has addressed this with a 6,000mAh silicon-carbon battery using 20 percent silicon content and a reported energy density of 920 Wh/L.
The Xiaomi 18 Fold supports 67W wired fast charging and 50W wireless charging.
The combination of a 6,000mAh battery, 219-gram weight and 5.02mm unfolded thickness could become one of the strongest selling points for consumers comparing the phone with other premium foldables.
Xiaomi Challenges Huawei, Samsung and Apple
Xiaomi is entering an increasingly important battle for premium foldable customers. Huawei remains particularly strong in China, holding 68 percent of China’s foldable smartphone market in the second quarter of 2026, according to industry reports. Huawei held 22.6 percent of China’s overall smartphone market.
That makes the Xiaomi 18 Fold’s price strategy significant. Huawei’s newly launched Mate XT2 models are priced from 19,999 yuan to 24,999 yuan, substantially above Xiaomi’s 10,999-yuan entry price, Reuters news report said.
For Xiaomi, however, the 18 Fold is about more than foldable market share. The smartphone showcases the company’s growing ability to combine in-house processors, Chinese LPDDR6 memory, AI software, Leica imaging, silicon-carbon batteries and advanced folding displays in one flagship device.
At 10,999 yuan, Xiaomi is still asking consumers to pay true ultra-premium prices. But the 18 Fold’s 7.58-inch display, XRING O3 processor, 200MP camera, 6,000mAh battery and 219-gram design give the company a strong specification-based argument as it attempts to win premium customers from Huawei, Samsung and Apple.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH
