TL;DR
Between September 7 and 10, 2026, Huawei, Xiaomi and Apple launched three foldable flagships within 72 hours — the Huawei Mate XT 2 (from RMB 19,999), the Xiaomi 18 Fold (from RMB 10,999) and Apple's first foldable iPhone (reported to start at RMB 14,999 in China) — making foldables the most contested battleground in the 2026 premium smartphone market.
Background
September 2026 is one of the most crowded months for flagship smartphone launches. According to public reports, all six major brands — Huawei, Xiaomi, Apple, Honor, vivo and OPPO — scheduled their second-half flagship events in September, with more than ten flagships arriving within three weeks. On September 7 afternoon, Huawei unveiled the tri-fold Mate XT 2 Ultimate Design; that evening, Xiaomi launched its mid-fold 18 Fold; and at 1:00 a.m. Beijing time on September 10, Apple's autumn event is expected to introduce its first foldable iPhone. The overlapping windows have been dubbed a foldable "three-kingdom showdown" by the media.
Foldables are treated by manufacturers as a strategic lever to move premium price bands upward. Ivan Lam, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, noted that Chinese vendors, Samsung and Apple alike now view foldable phones as a key pillar for raising overall premium pricing. Meanwhile, on September 1, several Chinese vendors raised prices on existing models (Huawei Mate 80 by RMB 800–1,000 per variant, Xiaomi 17 by RMB 300–500, Honor Magic8 by RMB 300–500), with rising memory-chip and component costs as a major backdrop.
1. Huawei Mate XT 2 Ultimate Design: the tri-fold sequel (launched September 7, 2026)
Huawei's Mate XT 2 launched on the afternoon of September 7, 2026. It is the second generation of Huawei's tri-fold form factor, debuting the Kirin 9050 Pro chipset and HarmonyOS 7.0 at a starting price of RMB 19,999. Every variant carries 16 GB of RAM, with 256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB storage tiers, plus a 1 TB Lingdun privacy-screen edition and a 2 TB stylus-bundle edition.
Key specs (per Huawei's official spec page): a 6.5-inch cover display when folded (2442×1140, 6,500-nit peak brightness) and a 10.2-inch inner display when fully unfolded (2232×3184, 3K class); 12.3 mm thick when folded and 3.5 mm at the thinnest point when unfolded; about 299 g; a 5,600 mAh battery (typical; 5,450 mAh rated) with 66 W wired and 50 W wireless charging; rear cameras of a 50 MP main shooter (F1.49–F4.0 variable aperture), a 40 MP ultra-wide, a 50 MP periscope telephoto (3.5× optical) and a third-generation Red Maple true-color camera; and the first IP58/IP59 dust-and-water resistance on a tri-fold device.
Pricing: RMB 19,999 (16+256), RMB 21,999 (16+512), RMB 23,999 (16+1TB) and RMB 24,999 (16+1TB Lingdun privacy-screen edition).
2. Xiaomi 18 Fold: a new "mid-fold" form factor (launched September 7, 2026)
Xiaomi launched the 18 Fold on the evening of September 7, 2026. It is Xiaomi's first mid-fold device and its highest-positioned phone to date, debuting the Xuanjie O3 chipset at a starting price of RMB 10,999. Xiaomi calls it a "mid-fold" form factor: a 5.38-inch cover display and a 7.58-inch inner display, both using a roughly √2:1 paper-like aspect ratio, emphasizing one-handed grip and document reading.
Key specs: both displays support 1–120 Hz LTPO adaptive refresh with a peak brightness of 4,000 nits (official Xiaomi figure); 10.68 mm thick when closed and 219 g; a 6,000 mAh Jinshajiang battery (5,875 mAh rated, 920 Wh/L energy density) with 67 W wired and 50 W wireless charging; a Leica full-focal professional triple camera (200 MP main); the debut Xuanjie O3 chipset with LPDDR6 memory; and Xiaomi HyperOS 4, supporting up to six-window multitasking.
Pricing: RMB 10,999 (12+256), RMB 11,999 (12+512), RMB 12,999 (16+512) and RMB 14,999 (16+1TB); a ceramic special edition (16+1TB, RMB 15,999) is limited to 1,500 units worldwide. Open sales began at 10:00 a.m. on September 10, 2026.
3. Apple's first foldable iPhone: pre-launch rumor roundup (expected September 10, 2026)
Apple's autumn event is scheduled for 1:00 a.m. Beijing time on September 10, and the market widely expects its first foldable iPhone to debut, tentatively referred to by media as the "iPhone Ultra." As of this writing the device has not been announced; everything below is from media and analyst reports, not official confirmation.
Aggregating leaks from MacRumors and others: a book-style horizontally folding design, a cover display of about 5.5 inches and an unfolded inner display of about 7.8 inches (PhoneArena lists a resolution of 2460×2180), a titanium body, a next-generation A20 Pro chip (2 nm process) and 12 GB of RAM; battery of about 4,700 mAh (leak figure). On pricing, Sina reports a China starting price of about RMB 14,999 (256 GB), while IDC forecasts an average selling price of $2,550 with the top configuration near $3,000. Whether it becomes Apple's most expensive iPhone ever, and how well crease control works, are the two open questions before the event.
4. Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | Huawei Mate XT 2 Ultimate Design | Xiaomi 18 Fold | Apple foldable iPhone (leaks) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form factor | Tri-fold | Mid-fold | Book-style horizontal fold |
| Cover display | 6.5" 2442×1140 | 5.38" | ~5.5" |
| Inner display | 10.2" 2232×3184 | 7.58" | ~7.8" 2460×2180 |
| Chipset | Kirin 9050 Pro | Xuanjie O3 (3 nm) | A20 Pro (2 nm, leak) |
| Battery | 5,600 mAh | 6,000 mAh | ~4,700 mAh (leak) |
| Starting price | RMB 19,999 | RMB 10,999 | ~RMB 14,999 (leak) |
| Status | Launched (Sep 7) | Launched (Sep 7) | Not announced (expected Sep 10) |
Common misconceptions and details
- Apple specs are all leak-based. The first foldable iPhone (dubbed iPhone Ultra or iPhone Fold by media) has not been released; the official name, price and specifications will be announced at the September 10 event and should be cited as "leak/expected" until then.
- Huawei's unfolded thickness has multiple figures. Huawei's official spec page lists tri-fold thickness as 4.0/3.69/3.5 mm (front-camera area, rear-camera area and camera-free area respectively); media usually cite the thinnest 3.5 mm figure.
- The Xiaomi 18 Fold peak brightness has two reported figures: 4,000 nits (APL 30%) per Xiaomi's official Weibo, and 3,000 nits in some media; cite the source when quoting.
Summary
Between September 7 and 10, 2026, Huawei, Xiaomi and Apple squared off head-on within 72 hours: Huawei defended its turf with a tri-fold design from RMB 19,999, Xiaomi entered the price band with a "mid-fold" from RMB 10,999, and Apple enters the foldable market for the first time with a reported starting price of RMB 14,999. The three devices differ in form factor (tri-fold / mid-fold / book-style), chipset (Kirin 9050 Pro / Xuanjie O3 / A20 Pro) and pricing strategy, confirming foldables as a must-win arena across all three premium lineups.
Sources and references
- 36Kr: Huawei and Xiaomi launch foldable phones on the same day: link
- Huawei official: HUAWEI Mate XT 2 Ultimate Design specifications: link
- Southcn: Xiaomi 18 Fold officially launched: link
- Antutu: xiaomi 18 Fold officially launched: link
- Sina: Apple's first foldable iPhone Ultra leaks: link
- PhoneArena: Apple iPhone Ultra (rumored specs): link
- National Business Daily: three events in 72 hours: link
- ZOL: Xiaomi 18 Fold ceramic edition: link