Is Xiaomi Working On A Clamshell Foldable? Here's What We Know

Xiaomi's rumored clamshell smartphone will reportedly be ready to hit the market this year. A report suggests that it might be priced attractively.

Xiaomi has long been rumored to be working on a vertically-folding smartphone, and now a new report claims that the device might be ready to hit the market sometime this year. Folding smartphones are becoming more popular every passing year, and even Apple is said to be working with multiple folding iPhone prototypes. However, they remain a niche at the premium end of the market with no indication on when they might become more affordable.

Xiaomi announced its first folding phone last year, and it attracted a lot of attention from many quarters. Called the Xiaomi MIX Fold, the device was unveiled in March 2021 with an eight-inch bezel-less AMOLED screen on the inside and a 6.52-inch 90Hz cover display. The company is now said to be working on the MIX Fold 2 that is expected to be announced in March this year. However, both those devices fold horizontally like Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 3, while the newly-rumored device folds vertically like the Galaxy Z Flip 3.

After releasing the horizontally folding MIX Fold last year, Xiaomi is said to be working on a new folding smartphone with a clamshell design. According to a Weibo post by serial tipster Digital Chat Station (via GizmoChina), the device would launch sometime this year and cost about the same as a standard flagship phone. The tipster also claimed that the folding phone would be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, which is expected to power most of the flagship smartphones this year. The main display on the device will also reportedly feature an FHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate, both of which sound reasonable enough for a flagship smartphone circa 2022. The post also suggests that the design of the clamshell device might be aimed at women, so it will be interesting to see how that turns out.

Xiaomi Working On A Clamshell Foldable For A Long Time

Xiaomi is believed to have been working on a vertically-folding smartphone for a long time. The first reports about a Xiaomi clamshell foldable date to early 2020, when the company received patents for some elements of a Motorola Razr-like foldable design. The company also reportedly placed orders for vertically-folding flexible OLED displays from Samsung, but nothing happened in the next couple of years. It will be interesting to see if the latest rumor turns out to be accurate and if Xiaomi indeed unveils its first clamshell foldable this year.

Meanwhile, for all the excitement surrounding an affordably-priced clamshell foldable, it is worth noting that this is still just a rumor at this stage. However, if Xiaomi can keep the pricing affordable, it might just shake up the foldables segment, given that most of the folding smartphones cost at least $1,000. For instance, two of the clamshell foldables on sale in the U.S., the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and the Moto Razr 5G, are both priced starting at $1,000, making them a bit on the expensive side for the vast majority of smartphone buyers.