Xiaomi took the wraps off its new foldable phone at IFA in Berlin and while I could only see it on a stand behind glass at first, I later managed to actually get my hands on the thing and have a brief play. The Xiaomi 18 Fold is a nice-feeling foldable Android phone with a passport-style design that I absolutely love. Problem is, it’s got some stiff competition from both Samsung with its Galaxy Z Fold 8 and now Apple, following the launch of the iPhone Duo.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 launched earlier this summer, sporting a passport-style design that CNET’s Abrar Al-Heeti liked enough to give a CNET Editors’ Choice award to. Xiaomi’s phone is in a similar vein to Samsung’s and Apple’s. It’s squat, with a 5.38-inch outer display that unfolds to reveal a 7.58-inch inner display. I agree totally with Abrar when she said that this shape is “refreshing” and “fun.”
The inner display looked bright and vibrant (at least, under the dim overhead office lights of my demo room) and the crease was barely noticeable. I recently <a href="https://myappsplus.com/apple-mac-studio-m5-ultra-review-yugatech/” title=”Apple Mac Studio M5 Ultra Review » YugaTech”>reviewed Samsung’s book-style folding Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, and I prefer the more passport style for its wider aspect ratio inner display. It just feels more natural.
Xiaomi says its custom hinge uses a “three-link” design for added strength and durability. I honestly can’t speak to that in my brief hands-on time, but it did feel satisfying to open. It’s also able to hold its position so you can prop it half open.
It’s the first phone the company has released using its own in-house XRing 03 processor, which Xiaomi claims is as powerful as any other flagship chip right now — presumably including the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Elite found in Samsung’s Galaxy phones. It’s an interesting move to see the company build its own silicon from scratch. Both Apple and Google have done similar things, and clearly, Xiaomi agrees that this is the way to have better control of all aspects of the product. How it performs on benchmarks remains to be seen.
Other specs include a 200-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel telephoto camera, and a 6,000 mAh silicon-carbon battery. Solid specs, for sure, but I’ll have to reserve judgment on how these perform when I get a model in my hands for some real testing.
But I’m impressed by the Xiaomi 18 Fold. It feels like one of the most sophisticated foldables the company has produced, and I find that passport format much more intriguing than the more typical book- or flip-style of its previous foldables.
Xiaomi has yet to say whether the phone will go on sale outside of mainland China, but I really hope it does. Xiaomi doesn’t officially sell any of its phones in the US, so don’t expect it there at any point, but I’ll keep my tea-stained British fingers crossed that I get a model at some point.
Editors’ note: Andrew Lanxon’s travel costs for the IFA conference were covered by Xiaomi. The judgments and opinions of CNET are our own.
