Xiaomi kicked off its IFA 2026 showing with a new foldable and it's another vote of confidence for the squisher foldable form factor, like Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8. For now, however, the company is only letting press and visiting dignitaries stare at the Xiaomi Fold 18 Pro on display – no touching. We'll hear more about the device on September 7, a few days before another company's phone event.

It's also not sharing specs like definitive screen sizes, cameras and the rest, but at least the company chose an eye-catching shade of supercar red. It's intriguing that Xiaomi has chosen an even wider display proportion for both the front and foldable screens and I'm itching to compare it to the Galaxy Z Fold 8. The camera unit also has a bit of Leica lettering, so expect a relatively capable shooter here, too.

Mat Smith for Engadget

Xiaomi is also launching the device with its own homemade SoC, the XRING 03, which it's calling its "Flagship AI SoC". That may mean no Snapdragon or Mediatek silicon. The SoC will combine CPU, GPU, NPU and AI chipsets, but Xiaomi isn't revealing much more for now: The Fold 18 will launch in China on September 7. We'll be taking a closer look then. 

The company also announced it'll launch its EVs in Europe. Yes, Xiaomi makes EVs.