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  5. Xiaomi preempts Apple with $1,638 in-house 3nm foldable in China
HardwareMAG 7
•
2026-09-07•2 min read

Xiaomi preempts Apple with $1,638 in-house 3nm foldable in China

Zubiqo Take
QuoteThreads

“Releasing a stacked phone solely for the domestic market two days before an Apple keynote is a loud PR flex with a very limited blast radius.”

Xiaomi preempts Apple with $1,638 in-house 3nm foldable in China
📷 Image Source: MacRumors

Executive Summary

  • •Xiaomi unveiled the 18 Fold smartphone two days before Apple's expected foldable reveal.
  • •The base model starts at 10,999 yuan (approximately $1,638) and features a 6,000mAh battery.
  • •Global availability remains unannounced as Xiaomi focuses on domestic defense.

Community Sentiment

1-Tap Vote

Key Developments & Data

Xiaomi officially announced the 18 Fold in China, intentionally timing the reveal two days before Apple is expected to unveil its own foldable iPhone. The base 12GB RAM and 256GB storage configuration starts at 10,999 yuan (approximately $1,638), significantly below Apple's rumored $2,000 entry price. The device relies on Xiaomi's in-house 3nm Xring O3 chip, which features a 10-core CPU clocked to 4.35GHz and a dedicated NPU rated at 200 TOPS. The rear camera system was co-developed with Leica and includes a 200-megapixel main sensor alongside a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto lens offering 3.5x optical zoom. A limited Ceramic Special Edition caps out at 1,500 units and 15,999 yuan, though no global availability for any model has been confirmed by the company.

Zubiqo Strategic Assessment

Primary Impact

Premium smartphone market in China, specifically targeting Apple's expected foldable market share and regional hardware dominance.

Strategic Shift

Chinese OEMs are heavily leveraging domestic in-house silicon (like the 3nm Xring O3) to out-spec and under-price Western tech giants ahead of major hardware cycles.

The Ripple Effect

Apple will face immediate pricing pressure and spec comparisons in the Chinese region if its foldable launches above the $2,000 threshold with an inferior camera array.

This intelligence assessment is generated by Zubiqo's AI for informational purposes only.

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#xiaomi#foldable#apple#smartphone#xring
Read original on MacRumors
Zubiqo MethodologyAI Synthesis

Synthesized from linked market reporting using AI extraction under Zubiqo's editorial standards. Have a correction? Contact our desk.

Event Magnitude7 / 10
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