Apple has changed the foldables market before even announcing the handset unofficially dubbed the ‘iPhone Ultra’ on September 9. First, Samsung changed years of precedent by squishing the form factor of its Galaxy Fold 8 to match wat’s expected from Apple, and now Xiaomi has revealed one of its traditional iPhonealikes.
The Xiaomi 18 Fold is the company’s first wide-format foldable and was showcased at an event in China today. The Android handset offers a 5.38-inch outer display and a 7.58-inch inner display with a squarer aspect ration than its previous foldable phones. Apple’s phone is expected to have similar 5.58-inch/7.8-inch displays when unfolded later this week.
Xiaomi says both of its displays provided a 120Hz LTPO refresh rate with 4,000 nits of peak brightness. The Xiaomi 18 Fold is also notable for being the first of the company’s flagship to offer its homegrown 3nm Xring O3 SoC. That includes a 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU.
The camera specs are impressive on paper with a 200-megapixel sensor throupled up with two 50-megapixel snappers taking care of the ultra wide and telephoto duties. The latter offers a potential leg up on Apple’s handset, which may drop the telephoto lens from the first generation iPhone Ultra.
The Chinese manufacturer is also promising a massive 6,000mAh battery to power those dual displays. To keep that battery alive and kicking, users will benefit from 67W wired and 50W wireless charging.
Durability is aided by a new Dragon Bone hinge that Xiaomi reckons has been improved in nearly 500 different ways, while the display is coated in dual-layer ultra-thin glass that’s 178% stronger and 29% more impact resistant than some of the company’s previous efforts in the foldable realm.
While this phone is very unlikely to trouble Apple, it is likely to affect Samsung’s sales of the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which has two far proved really popular among Android users. Selling arrangements outside of China are yet to be announced, with the Xiaomi 18 Fold coming in four colours, including a limited edition ceramic finish.
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