Xiaomi 18 Fold leaks in real-life photos with a wide design and a record-breaking chip

The Xiaomi 18 Fold in Burgundy Red, as spotted in real-world leak photos posted to Weibo.. Source: Source: Weibo

Xiaomi has confirmed its 18 Fold foldable for a late-September 2026 debut, and real-world photos have already surfaced on Weibo showing the phone in a deep Burgundy red. It's the first Xiaomi book-style foldable since the Mix Fold 4 in 2024, and this time the design goes wider — putting it directly in Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 territory.

The chip

The 18 Fold will be the launch device for Xiaomi's new Xring O3 processor. Built on TSMC's 3nm process with 24 billion transistors and a 10-core CPU, the chip scored 5,228,014 points on AnTuTu V11 — making it the first mobile processor to break the 5.2 million mark, per GSMArena. It also supports LPDDR6 memory, which is a step ahead of what most 2025 flagships shipped with. The 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, launching at the same September event, will run Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 instead.

The look

Leak photos show a shorter, wider body compared to previous Mix Fold models — much closer to the Galaxy Z Fold 8's proportions. The Burgundy colorway is eye-catching, though it's worth noting that similar shades are also rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro, so this isn't a Xiaomi-exclusive trend. CEO Lei Jun has already been spotted using the device, according to Android Authority, which signals the hardware is close to final.

The catch for US and UK buyers

Here's the problem: there's no indication the 18 Fold will launch outside China. EEC certifications — the paperwork required for European sales — have been filed for the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, but not for the 18 Fold, notes Notebookcheck. No US filings have surfaced either. That leaves the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, priced at $1,899, as essentially the only wide-format foldable available in North America and the UK. Xiaomi hasn't announced pricing, battery specs, or camera details for the 18 Fold, and the standard Xiaomi 18 (non-fold) has been pushed back to December 2026 or January 2027. For now, the 18 Fold looks impressive on paper — and exclusively Chinese in practice.