Xiaomi Tri-Fold Smartphone Could Be in Development, Leaked Patent Suggests

Could this be a new Mix-branded device?

Written by Sheldon Pinto, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 18 September 2024 14:31 IST

Xiaomi Tri-Fold Smartphone Could Be in Development, Leaked Patent Suggests

Xiaomi’s latest book-style foldable is its Mix Fold 4 available in China

Highlights

Xiaomi recently announced both clamshell and book-style foldable phones
The company is reportedly working on a tri-folding smartphone as well
A new patent applied for the same now gives us an idea about its design

Huawei recently launched its latest foldable smartphone under its Honor brand called the Magic V3 which also turned out to be the slimmest production foldable smartphone in existence. Soon after, Huawei followed this with the launch of its (rather expensive) Mate XT Ultimate, which as things would have it, turned out to be the world's first production-ready tri-fold smartphone. Xiaomi too launched its latest foldable smartphone back in July called the Mix Fold 4, and now it seems it also has a tri-fold smartphone in development.

According to a report by 91 Mobiles, Xiaomi recently filed for a patent application for its first tri-fold device at the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). The application which was seen by the source, also suggested its design (which we believe are the schematics) of the device in question. This patent was filed on September 3, which is very recent.

The source in its report has come up with renders based on information shown in the patent and the device (at least in these initial renders) does appear quite chunky in comparison to Huawei's Mate XT Ultimate. The device appears to have two hinges one of which lets the first (and outermost) part of the foldable device flip outwards, turning it into a regular bar-shaped smartphone when completely closed. When fully opened, it is seen to take on a tablet-like form factor with a properly rectangular main display. Xiaomi's take on the camera module appears to be a horizontal layout with three cameras and a flash module placed next to each other in a line.

Despite having two hinges and three body panels at the back, the phone for some reason does not seem as wide as Huawei's Mate XT Ultimate but a lot taller and narrower visually. It appears this way both when open and folded, with a closer resemblance to Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 6, which has a narrow cover screen compared to most foldables currently available globally.

What also remains unclear about Xiaomi's tri-fold smartphone (as pointed out by the source) is whether it will be a production-ready device, like Huawei's Mate XT Ultimate.

News about Xiaomi's first tri-fold foldable first showed up in an earlier report, which came from Chinese social media platform Weibo. The tipster did not give out any details about the phone's hardware configuration, but only randomly stated that such a device was in development. It also stated that this tri-fold smartphone would be thicker than usual and that it could be announced at next year's Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025.

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Honor Magic V3

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display (Primary) 7.92-inch

Processor Snapdragon 8 Gen 3

Front Camera 20-megapixel + 20-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 40-megapixel + 50-megapixel

RAM 12GB

Storage 256GB

Battery Capacity 5150mAh

OS Android 14

Resolution 2344x2156 pixels

More Honor mobiles Honor mobiles price in India

Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display (Primary) 6.40-inch

Front Camera 8-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 16GB

Storage 256GB

Battery Capacity 5600mAh

OS HarmonyOS 4.2

Resolution 1008x2232 pixels

More Huawei mobiles Huawei mobiles price in India

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Overall refinements
Offers a bunch of useful AI features
Excellent displays (main and cover)
IP48 protection
7 years of Android software updates

Bad
Very expensive
Cameras could have been better
Still stuck at 25W charging

Read detailed Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 review

Display (Primary) 7.60-inch

Processor Snapdragon 8 Gen 3

Front Camera 10-megapixel + 4-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 10-megapixel

RAM 12GB

Storage 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

Battery Capacity 4400mAh

OS Android 14

Resolution 1856x2160 pixels

More Samsung mobiles Samsung mobiles price in India

Xiaomi Mix Fold 4

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display (Primary) 7.98-inch

Processor Snapdragon 8 Gen 3

Front Camera 20-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 50-megapixel + 10-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 12GB

Storage 256GB

Battery Capacity 5100mAh

OS Android 14

Resolution 2224x2488 pixels

More Xiaomi mobiles Xiaomi mobiles price in India

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Further reading: Xiaomi, Xiaomi tri fold smartphone, Xiaomi Tri-Fold Smartphone Design, Xiaomi Tri-Fold Smartphone Launch

Sheldon Pinto

Email Sheldon Pinto

Sheldon Pinto is based in Mumbai, and has several years of experience in reviewing smartphones and gadgets. As a Senior Reviewer at Gadgets 360, you will always find him deeply immersed in his reviews, switching from one phone to another. When the battery dies out, Sheldon is always browsing the web for a good sci-fi movie or reading up on cars and bikes. He also loves creating lists of interesting places to eat and travel. Sheldon is available on Twitter at @shellshocd, and you can mail him at ...More