Matching dimensions, matching display proportions, and an aggressively competitive feature set make Xiaomi’s 18 Fold feel deliberately engineered to challenge Apple’s foldable formula. The hardware comparison initially makes Xiaomi look formidable: it is thinner and substantially lighter while packing a claimed 6,000mAh battery, faster charging, brighter displays, three rear cameras, dual physical SIM support, an IR blaster, and accessories in the box. At an equivalent starting price of roughly $1,640 versus the stated $2,000 for Apple’s alternative, the sheer amount of hardware Xiaomi provides becomes one of the presentation’s clearest arguments.
That advantage extends beyond specifications. The demonstration of six simultaneous apps alongside two floating windows gives Xiaomi’s multitasking system an impressive showcase, particularly because windows can be resized, reordered, grouped, dismissed together, and restored from the dock. The presenter sensibly acknowledges that few people will regularly push multitasking this far, preventing an entertaining demonstration from being mistaken for an everyday necessity. Smaller touches also receive appropriate attention, including interfaces that transform when moving between the outer and inner displays and icons that rotate as apps open.
The review becomes much more valuable once it stops counting advantages and starts examining how well the unusual hardware actually works. Xiaomi’s software frequently appears insufficiently adapted to the wide foldable display, leaving unused margins and inconsistent layouts. Examples involving Xiaomi’s own camera and weather applications are particularly damaging because they show that the problem cannot simply be blamed on third-party developers. Uneven black bars, stretched low-resolution elements, awkward layouts, and strange behavior undermine the impression of a device whose software was designed specifically around its hardware.
Third-party compatibility provides an even broader collection of problems. YouTube deteriorates visually in split-screen mode, Netflix reportedly develops interface issues after rotation, Pokémon Champions places an interface element beneath the selfie camera, and the Play Store exhibits lag and shifting text. The comparison with Apple remains appropriately qualified here: the presenter has not yet tested how third-party applications will behave on the competing device and therefore limits the favorable claim to the pre-installed software he has seen. That restraint makes the criticism of Xiaomi considerably more persuasive than simply assuming Apple will handle every application perfectly.
More concerning is the thermal testing. Xiaomi’s chip and LPDDR6 RAM produce impressive claimed specifications, and ordinary gaming apparently works without trouble in roughly 30-minute sessions, but a 3DMark stress test reportedly forces the phone to close from overheating in under ten minutes on two attempts. Thermal-camera observations suggesting that heat remains heavily concentrated near the chip give the criticism additional substance. The presenter extrapolates that poor heat distribution could create longevity problems, which is a reasonable concern to raise but remains a prospective risk rather than a demonstrated long-term failure.
Several other compromises further weaken the spec-sheet victory. The aluminum construction saves weight but is presented as more vulnerable to cosmetic wear than Apple’s titanium approach, while the 200-megapixel main camera does not translate into superior output in the comparison shown. The ultra-wide camera is criticized for visible grain, and the phone also lacks stylus support and Apple’s described anti-reflective display treatment. Add a hinge that reportedly sounds scratchy and occasionally clicks, persistent fingerprints, a somewhat more visible crease, and harsh speakers, and the device begins to feel less comprehensively refined than its headline specifications suggest.
The presentation is lively and unusually effective at turning technical differences into demonstrations rather than merely reciting numbers. Humor keeps an extensive comparison moving, while the progression from apparent Xiaomi landslide to a much more complicated assessment gives the review a strong structure. The late Surfshark sponsorship, however, arrives directly in the middle of the camera comparison and significantly interrupts the conclusion’s momentum; the smishing discussion is informative on its own terms, but it delays resolution of one of the review’s key comparisons just as the analysis is reaching its verdict.
Pros
- Uses concrete hardware comparisons involving dimensions, weight, battery capacity, charging, displays, cameras, SIM support, and price rather than relying on vague claims of superiority.
- The extreme multitasking demonstration effectively shows what Xiaomi’s software can do beyond its specifications.
- Identifies numerous specific software optimization problems across both Xiaomi and third-party applications.
- Repeated stress testing and thermal-camera observations provide useful evidence for the overheating criticism.
- Fairly distinguishes observed shortcomings on Xiaomi from aspects of Apple’s competing device that have not yet been fully tested.
- Balances impressive headline features against less obvious compromises involving cameras, hinge quality, speakers, materials, and display treatment.
Cons
- Some durability and long-term thermal concerns are projections rather than problems demonstrated through extended ownership.
- The playful scorekeeping and exaggerated comparisons occasionally oversimplify differences that later prove more nuanced.
- The Surfshark sponsorship interrupts the camera comparison at an especially important point in the review.
- The final camera comparison is relatively brief considering how heavily Xiaomi promotes its higher-resolution and additional camera hardware.
Xiaomi delivers an extraordinary collection of features in a lighter, less expensive foldable, but the detailed testing makes a convincing case that specifications alone cannot capture the quality of the experience. Software inconsistencies, thermal behavior, camera compromises, and several smaller refinement issues turn what initially appears to be a hardware rout into a much more nuanced comparison. The energetic presentation occasionally gets carried away with its jokes and scorekeeping, but its willingness to test beyond the spec sheet makes the assessment informative and persuasive.
