The next foldable flagship is due from Xiaomi by 7 September, and initial impressions already suggest this one is for the high-powered, practical crowd. The Xiaomi 18 Fold packs a 6000mAh battery, 200-megapixel main camera and the company’s own Xring O3 chipsetand is sure to advance foldable phones closer to the mainstream. Battery life and camera quality on flip phones have always been issues, and Xiaomi looks like it may rectify both.
6000mAh is a massive capacity cell for a foldable, if that’s what we can expect from a device that’s designed to be slimmer when closed. Most other flip phones are closer to 4500 or 5000 mAh. If that number translates to real-world endurance, users won’t have to carry it around as a second device.
The camera is just as ambitious. The main sensor is 200 megapixelsin the same league of resolution as some flagship non-folding Xiaomi phoneswhich gives the impression that the company has confidence that it can achieve a flagship quality camera sensor without the extra weight and depth. Additional lenses and software smarts will be what pushes the image quality, but the headline number alone should stir excitement even from photographers who have hitherto ignored foldable phones.
dominating the actual hardware is the Xring O3. Xiaomi’s new in house processor, built on a 3-nanometer process. This is a step away from using third-party chipsets and allows Xiaomi to have a great deal more control over aspects like performance, battery life as well as which features are included.
Initial reports describe a deca-core chip that is fine tuned to cope with the particular requirements of a foldable screen where the processor needs to be capable of managing a small screen on the outer panel and a much larger one on the inner without excessively using battery power or creating heat. September 7 launching date leaves the 18 Fold in great competition. Samsung, Google and a handful of Chinese competitors are also improving upon their respective rollable products.
Xiaomi appears to target more grounded rather than experimental improvements. A larger battery, more capable camera, and faster proprietary chip are the improvements that matter to the already foldable owners and prospective customers. Design and durability will be another key factor.
It all hangs on the quality of the hinge and the toughness of the flexible displaysomething Xiaomi has been steadily enhancing with each generation since its debut. With the 18 Fold, expect it to inch forward: thinner bezels, a better crease, improved antistatic and a chassis that can take the insults of normal handling. Software continues to play another crucial role. Xiaomi’s HyperOS is now more refined and offers improved multitasking functionalities designed explicitly for the expansive inner screen. The decision of whether this hardware can produce actual productivity benefits will rest on the presence of split-view applications, floating window support, and fluid shifts between the cover display and the primary panel.