Xiaomi's new foldable phone copies the squat passport shape

Xiaomi has shown a new foldable phone, the Xiaomi 18 Fold, and a CNET editor who tried it came away impressed. It uses a short, wide "passport" shape, the same idea behind Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Apple's new iPhone Duo. People in the US cannot buy it, though.

What it offers

The outer screen measures 5.38 inches. Open the phone and the inner screen is 7.58 inches. In a short demo, the inner display looked bright and the crease was barely noticeable. The hinge can hold the phone half open, so it can be propped up.

• A 200-megapixel main camera and a 50-megapixel telephoto camera
• A 6,000 mAh silicon-carbon battery
• Xiaomi's first phone with its own XRing 03 chip
• A "three-link" hinge that Xiaomi says adds strength

Xiaomi claims the chip is as powerful as any top phone chip today. That has not been tested. The hinge claim has not been tested either.

What is still unknown

Xiaomi has not given a price or said whether the phone will sell outside mainland China. The company does not officially sell phones in the US, so a US launch is not expected. The reviewer only had brief hands-on time, so battery life, camera quality and speed are still open questions. Xiaomi paid the reviewer's travel costs to the event, and CNET says its opinions are its own.

The wider shape is the point for shoppers. It gives a more natural inner screen, and it is now a real choice from several big brands.