Apple's iPhone Duo and Xiaomi's 18 Fold were unveiled just two days apart, and both are premium foldable phones with a passport-style design that moves away from the squarer shape that has defined the category for years. Beyond that, the two diverge in cameras, software, price and availability. The Duo starts at $1,999, with pre-orders opening October 16 and sales beginning October 23. The Xiaomi 18 Fold starts at 10,999 yuan, or about $1,640, and is China-only for now.
In design and display, the specs are quite similar. Both have a 7.6-inch inner screen and a 5.4-inch outer screen, each with a 120Hz refresh rate. Xiaomi claims a peak brightness of 4,000 nits, compared with Apple's 3,000 nits. The Duo's inner screen uses a nano-textured layer to reduce glare and make the crease less visible, and its front camera is hidden beneath the display. The materials differ: the Duo has a titanium frame, Ceramic Shield glass and an IP68 rating, while the 18 Fold uses aluminum and Shield Glass 3.0 with no IP rating shared. The 18 Fold is lighter at 219 grams versus 254 grams.
Both phones use custom chips. Apple's A20 Pro is built on a 2-nanometer architecture, while Xiaomi's XRING O3 uses 3-nanometer technology. The 18 Fold offers 16 GB of RAM against the Duo's 12 GB, which matters mainly for demanding games and AI tasks. Cameras are the biggest differentiator. The Duo has two 48-megapixel sensors and relies on digital zoom, while Xiaomi offers a 200-megapixel main sensor plus two 50-megapixel sensors, including one for optical zoom.
Xiaomi also leads on charging, supporting up to 67W wired and 50W wireless, compared with the Duo's 60W wired and 35W MagSafe wireless. Apple's strength is software, with iOS 27 adding Split View multitasking and Siri AI, along with Apple Pencil support.
Source: Engadget · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing