Tag: Mi Fold

Xiaomi Delays The Release Of Its Foldable Smartphone Over Market Insecurity

Foldable smartphones are expected to be the technology trend for the year 2019. Samsung and Huawei have both showcased their first devices capable of folding into half. These handsets are the Galaxy Fold and the Mate X respectively. While the former was deemed ready for sales a few weeks ago, incidents questioning the smartphone’s durability surfaced online. This led to Samsung recalling the units in a bid to fix the issues plaguing them. While the market waits patiently for the Galaxy Fold to show up again, the major blow of the incidents seems to have been suffered by Xiaomi.

The Chinese smartphone OEM showed off its foldable smartphone in a series of teasers and videos over the past few months. It was also reported the device could make its way into the market in a few months at half the price of the Galaxy Fold and the Mate X. However, due to the increasing market insecurities over Foldable Smartphones, Xiaomi seems to have pushed back the release of its foldable handset.

Investors in the Xiaomi supply chain, had revealed that while the launch of the device was earlier planned in the month of June, our original source claims it has been postponed for later in the summer. This will allow Xiaomi to further test their foldable device.

Due to the unfortunate incidents with the durability of the Samsung Galaxy Fold, and the following negative sentiments regarding foldable smartphones; Xiaomi is delaying the release, and further testing their product, and also making sure that the insecurity over the Galaxy fold failure will not impact the sales of their foldable device. Our source claims that the company may wait till another manufacturer releases a foldable device, before they unveil the phone in its entirety.

The company was claimed to have sourced foldable displays from the display maker Visionox. A patent for a foldable Xiaomi device was also discovered around the same time. The rumoured handset by the company is also expected to feature the Snapdragon 855 SoC, up to 8GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage.

Also read: OnePlus 7 Unboxing And Hands On Video

The major attraction with the foldable Xiaomi smartphone is claimed to be its price. Our source told us that the device could retail at half the price of the already announced handsets from Samsung and Huawei, retailing in at about US$ 999 and arriving in India at a lucrative price tag of Rs 74,999.
The handset is now expected later in the Summer, possibly after Samsung re launches the Galaxy Fold, and while Huawei Mate X is also expected in the month of July.

May 31, 2019
Xiaomi’s Foldable Smartphone Spotted In Official Video Promo

The era of foldable smartphones is upon us, with 2019 being the year that fans across the globe will get their hands on foldable devices from brands like Huawei, Samsung and Xiaomi. Previously, a video was showcased which showed Xiaomi’s VP using the company’s first foldable smartphone. When it was announced that the Chinese company may not release it’s foldable device anytime soon, the fan chatter died a bit. However, the expectation bar may have been raised again, as a video teaser was posted on Xiaomi’s official Weibo page. And it showcased the foldable Xiaomi smartphone in all its glory.

Showcased Features

In hindsight, the new teaser drops a lot of hints, the major one being the fact that Xiaomi may debut the foldable market in the smartphone very soon. The 10-second video teaser shows the device being handled by a user in both the “flat” mode and the “folded” mode. Noteworthy, the fact that the device is folded from both the edges may lead to the device being more portable and compact than its competitors. It may also mean that the smartphone has a bigger screen size than other foldable devices.

#xiaomi
Xiaomi Mi Fold with double folding screen. pic.twitter.com/vvYaf6rLOL
— Xiaomishka (@xiaomishka) March 27, 2019

Another feature that was showcased in the video was the gesture control in the foldable smartphone. The feature seemed very handy for a device it’s size, especially when it is switched to the tablet mode. Also, the speed at which the phone was folded into the smartphone mode was also remarkable, considering that it literally shrunk to half its size in the blink of an eye.

Expected Pricing & Availability

Also Read: Huawei P30 Lite Goes On Pre Order In The Phillipines

The Xiaomi foldable smartphone is expected to run on the Snapdragon 855 chipset, which is the norm for any flagship smartphone right now. The device’s foldable display is speculated to be co-developed by Visionox, as per reports. The device may debut in the second quarter of 2019, and users may witness its first launch in China. As far as pricing is concerned, the foldable smartphone may be priced aggressively as compared to other upcoming foldable smartphones. Seeing as how the Galaxy Fold from Samsung is priced at US$ 1,980, Xiaomi may adopt almost half the price of the same, placing it at under US$ 1000.

March 28, 2019
Xiaomi’s Foldable Phone Will Launch Q2 For Half Price Of The Galaxy Fold

Foldable phones are all the rage in 2019. And even before Samsung could show off their first foldable phone, the Galaxy Fold, many devices were teased and one was even on display at the CES 2019.

Xiaomi was one such company that released a video showcasing their version of the foldable phone. Xiaomi not only showed off a working prototype of the device but also showed that the phone worked well and was relatively easy to use and fold up.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold became the first device to be launched by the electronics giant, and with that, the company officially opened the market to potential competition. Samsung’s foldable phone was soon followed by Huawei Mate X which also showed a new falcon wing design and a more premium price bracket. Samsung wants to retail the Galaxy Fold for US$ 1980 while Huawei Mate X was launched for US$ 2600.

Investors in Xiaomi’s supply chain reveal that the Chinese electronics company will launch their foldable phone as soon as the end of April or early June. Xiaomi will hold a separate event in China which will be a global launch of the product followed by several localised launches in its important markets.

Our source also reveals that Xiaomi plans to sell the Foldable device at a US$ 999 price mark. Which will make it the cheapest foldable smartphone. Xiaomi will also bring the phone to Europe for €999 and to India for Rs.74999.

If Xiaomi manages to launch the Foldable Mi device at such an aggressive price it will surely be able to gather some attention for the product.

Part of the reason Xiaomi will manage this low pricing is the display. While Samsung and Huawei are using higher quality OLED panels manufactured by Samsung and BOE display. Xiaomi will use Visionox Technology OLED displays. Visionox has developed the foldable displays as per Xiaomi’s requirements. Xiaomi has also funded development and manufacturing resource infrastructure costs for Visionox Technology to be able to develop this display. The company recently filed a patent for the foldable display.

If Xiaomi manages to launch the Mi Fold / Flex at the above price, it will surely generate enough excitement to warrant sales for the phone. The smartphone will continue to have flagship specifications including the Snapdragon 855 chipset and 8GB to 10GB of RAM.

March 9, 2019