Xiaomi 18 Fold design revealed, Leica cameras, wider aspect ratio, and Sept 7 launch confirmed

On Weibo, Xiaomi confirms the September 7 launch date of its hotly anticipated wider aspect ratio foldable, the Xiaomi 18 Fold.

Xiaomi 18 Fold's folded and unfolded states

Xiaomi drops the "MIX" label

Xiaomi has begun teasing its upcoming foldable, the Xiaomi 18 Fold, ahead of its September 7 launch event in China. Xiaomi executive Lu Weibing unveiled its shorter, wider 'mid-fold' design that is intended to fix common issues with foldables.

Xiaomi 18 Fold's XRING O3 processor and Leica co-designed cameras

The Chinese manufacturer launched its first foldable in 2021 with the Mi Mix Fold, which features an 8.01-inch screen and a novel liquid lens camera. Later models, the Mix Fold 2, Mix Fold 3, and Mix Fold 4, focused heavily on making the phones as thin and light as possible to compete with its competitors. 

By dropping the 'Mix' label, it communicates a strategy shift. Moving the device to its main numeric series, Xiaomi is signaling that its foldables are no longer experimental side projects, but mainstream flagship phones.

The headline feature of the Xiaomi 18 Fold is its passport-like shape. Closed, it looks and feels more like a normal phone that is both easy to hold and to type on with one hand. Opened up, the squarer inner screen gives you a wider canvas for watching videos or running two apps side by side without needing to rotate the device.

Xiaomi 18 Fold's inner folding screen

Official teasers and posts from the brand also confirmed that the phone will feature a 5.38-inch cover screen and a 7.58-inch foldable display. Inside will be the XRING O3 AI processor with LPDDR6 Memory (that was announced last week).

It will also feature a vertical camera module housing the Leica co-designed cameras. 

Xiaomi also revealed that the phone uses an updated dragon bone hinge to make the screen's crease less visible and make it more durable. 

Lastly, it will run on Surge

Source: Xiaomi 1, 2, Via: nokiamob, GizmoChina