Apple finally entered the foldable smartphone market this month with the iPhone Duo, giving established manufacturers another major competitor to worry about. However, Apple’s arrival doesn’t appear to have taken much attention away from Xiaomi, as early sales figures for the new Xiaomi 18 Fold are already looking impressive.

Xiaomi announced the 18 Fold on September 7 before launching it in China on September 10, just a day after Apple unveiled the iPhone Duo during its September event. Despite the timing and its premium price, the Xiaomi foldable reportedly managed to sell around 36,000 units on its first day, according to industry insider RD Observation.

Foldable phone sales in China – can Apple compete?

That figure may look small compared to sales of mainstream smartphones, but foldables occupy a much smaller and more premium corner of the market. The Xiaomi 18 Fold starts at 10,999 yuan, or around $1,500, while the 16GB RAM and 1TB storage version costs 14,999 yuan, or roughly $2,050. There’s also a ceramic special edition with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage priced at 15,999 yuan, which works out to around $2,190.

The first-day figure isn’t the only indication that Xiaomi has a strong launch on its hands. Xiaomi China President Wang Xiaoyan revealed that sales increased by 310% compared to the previous-generation foldable in the same price segment.

The increase is particularly notable considering how competitive the foldable market has become. Xiaomi is now competing against devices from Samsung, Huawei, Honor, Vivo, OPPO, and, most recently, Apple. Despite the increasing popularity of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip and Fold series, it remains a small player in China due to the array of domestic options.

Apple is entering a crowded foldable phone market in China, so it’s difficult to see just how well it will fare, but the price won’t help. The iPhone Duo starts at 15,999 yuan in the country (for the cheapest 256GB model with 12GB RAM), making it considerably more expensive than the Xiaomi competitor.

The 18 Fold brings several major upgrades to help it stand out from the crowd. It features a 5.38-inch outer screen and a 7.58-inch foldable display, with both capable of reaching up to 4,000 nits of peak brightness. The inner panel also gets an anti-reflective film to improve visibility.

Another significant change is the processor. Instead of relying on a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip, Xiaomi has equipped the phone with its own XRING O3 chipset. It also features LPDDR6 memory and a Leica-backed camera system.

About the Author

Abdul Haddi

Abdul is a tech writer and Editor for PC Guide, specializing in all things tech, gaming, and hardware.