Early information about Xiaomi’s foldable smartphone to be unveiled in 2026 has leaked. Yes, we’re not kidding. Although 2026 is more than 1.5 years away, we can officially confirm the existence of the device. The smartphone manufacturer is actively working on 2 different foldable smartphones.
Xiaomi plans to introduce another tri-fold model in 2026
The first one is “zhuque”, which the Smartprix team has already spotted. The first tri-fold foldable device with the codename “zhuque” is expected to be introduced in 2025. This special foldable model will be completely button-less. Of course, the new device will not only be buttonless. At the same time, this device will go down in history as the brand’s first “tri-fold” smartphone.
Xiaomi is planning to announce another tri-fold foldable phone in 2026. The model number of this smartphone has been spotted in our IMEI database. We will not be able to give detailed information about the next successor to be unveiled before the tri-fold model codenamed zhuque is introduced. Since we spotted this foldable phone almost 1.5 years ago, and there may be many changes according to the brand’s plan. Here is the model number of the Xiaomi tri-fold foldable phone to be announced in 2026:
Xiaomi’s next tri-fold model will have the model number “26013VP46C“. The “2601” at the beginning of the model number stands for January 2026 and indicates that the estimated launch date will take place in Q1 2026. Of course, these are very early estimates. The “C” at the end of the model number again stands for China and officially confirms that Xiaomi will not announce tri-fold foldable devices to the global market.
The next tri-fold model, expected to be announced in 2026, should be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor. Naturally, there is no information about Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 at the moment. Even, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 has not been introduced yet. New information about both tri-fold smartphones will certainly emerge in the near future.
“Zhuque” has an important position among Xiaomi’s tri-fold devices
However, one thing is worth noting. If the “zhuque” is not as successful as Xiaomi wants, it may not be announced, or it may be introduced as a concept device and produced in limited quantities. This may also directly affect the tri-fold model, which is expected to be introduced in 2026, and may cause Xiaomi to abandon this project altogether. We can give the MIX Alpha as an example.
“zhuque” will stand out with its tri-fold and buttonless design, but unfortunately it will remain exclusive to the Chinese market. While this is sad, you can still get your hands on this special foldable Xiaomi in different ways (like having the device shipped from China through someone).
“Zhuque” has already been spotted in the IMEI database and has 2 different model numbers: 2503FVPB1C, and 25031VP29C (via XiaomiTime). The first one belongs to the “satellite communication supported” version of the device and the second one to the “non-satellite communication supported” model. The “C” at the end of the model numbers stands for China, confirming that the zhuque will only be launched in China.
If the “Xiaomi Zhuque” is not fully ready and does not go into mass production, we don’t recommend buying it. Concept Xiaomi devices don’t have good software support. This can cause significant problems when using apps. The MIX Alpha was launched with Android 9-based MIUI 11 and the last internal beta build was 20.1.10. This build was based on Android 9 and MIX Alpha has not received any further updates. With this, we come to the end of the article. We will inform you about new developments, stay tuned.
You can follow Smartprix on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Google News. Visit smartprix.com for the latest tech and auto news, reviews, and guides.
