We tried Xiaomi’s thunder-stealing iPhone Ultra rival — here’s what the Xiaomi 18 Fold could tell us about Apple’s rumored foldable axel.metz@futurenet.com (Axel Metz) | amznusa.com

If you thought the stubby form factor of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 was a passing craze, think again: Xiaomi has today launched the Xiaomi 18 Fold, a similarly proportioned device that arrives just days before the expected launch of Apple’s first foldable, the iPhone Ultra.

Featuring a 5.38-inch cover display and a 7.58-inch inner display — both of which have a 1.4:1 aspect ratio — the Xiaomi 18 Fold mimics the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s passport-style design (and indeed that of the China-only Huawei Pura X Max) to deliver a “flexible user experience across work, creativity, and entertainment.”

Mind you, the Xiaomi 18 Fold may actually have more in common with Apple’s imminent iPhone Ultra than the Galaxy Z Fold 8, given that it has two rounded corners when closed and four when open. The Galaxy Z Fold 8, meanwhile, is straight-edged whichever way you slice it.

TechRadar’s Collections Editor, Ruth Hamilton, got hands-on with the Xiaomi 18 Fold at IFA 2026, and confirmed that the device is also ever-so-slightly shorter and wider than Samsung’s latest foldable. The latter has a pair of screens measuring 5.5 inches and 7.6 inches, respectively, with each offering distinct 10:16 and 4:3 aspect ratios. The Xiaomi 18 Fold, by contrast, has a 1.4:1 ratio when both folded and unfolded.

Xiaomi’s foldable is also a touch heavier and thicker than the Galaxy Z Fold 8. When closed, it measures 10.68mm and weighs 219g; when unfolded, it’s 5.02mm thick. The latter device weighs just 201g and measures 9.7mm and 4.5mm, respectively.

But we’re talking millimeters here. This is still a thin and lightweight foldable whose proportions are perfectly suited to video content. Tellingly, the Xiaomi 18 Fold’s 1.4:1 aspect ratio is almost identical to the 1.43:1 aspect ratio of an IMAX screen.

While we didn’t get to watch any movies on the device in our short hands-on time with it, we can attest to the superior entertainment experience delivered by the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s shorter and wider form factor. 4:3 is slightly taller and squarer than 1.43:1, but given that most video content is presented in 16:9, the video-watching experience is likely to be similar across both devices.

Incidentally, despite being rumored to have similar-looking rounded corners to the Xiaomi 18 Fold, the iPhone Ultra is tipped to match the Z Fold 8’s 4:3 unfolded aspect ratio. We’re expecting Apple’s device to have a cover display of between 5.3 and 5.49 inches, and a foldable display of between 7.7 and 7.8 inches.

It’s also, however, rumored to be slightly shorter and wider than the Z Fold 8. This may again make it look closer in appearance to the Xiaomi 18 Fold, even if its screens are most closely aligned to the Galaxy’s.

Other features of Xiaomi’s latest foldable include a pill-shaped camera bar with three Leica-optimized cameras: a 200MP main, a 50MP ultra-wide, and a 50MP telephoto with 3.5x optical zoom.

This could be where the Xiaomi 18 Fold pulls ahead of the competition — the Z Fold 8 doesn’t have a telephoto camera, and the iPhone Ultra is likewise rumored to launch with just two cameras (a wide and an ultra-wide).

Under the hood, the Xiaomi 18 Fold is powered by Xiaomi’s in-house Xring O3 chip, a 6,000mAh battery, and up to 16GB of RAM. These are strong internal specs. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to put them to the test unless you live in China; the Xiaomi 18 Fold is only launching in Xiaomi’s home market for a starting price of ¥10,999.

That figure would make the phone around $1,650 / £1,220 / AU$2,275 overseas, which, before import tariffs and local taxes, isn’t far off the $1,899 / £1,699 / AU$2,699 starting price of the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Might the iPhone Ultra cost a similar sum? We’ll find out tomorrow (September 9), when Apple’s ‘Surprise and Shine’ event gets underway.