Xiaomi’s 3nm Foldable Lands While iPhone 18 Colors Leak

Xiaomi’s 18 Fold is set for a September 7 launch in China with the company’s 3nm Xring O3 chip and CXMT LPDDR6 memory. The pairing is the first phone stack to ship that new RAM standard, and it lands two days before Apple’s iPhone event. The leak that still travels farther is a paint job: iPhone 18 Pro in Dark Cherry, Sky Blue, and either Black or Silver.

Poco, Xiaomi’s performance brand, already sells its own Dark Cherry F9 Ultra. The finish Apple’s leakers are still fighting over is on a $799 Android phone with a 185Hz screen and an 8,050mAh cell.

Leakers Still Cannot Agree on iPhone 18 Pro Paint

Fixed Focus Digital, a Weibo leaker, said the iPhone 18 Pro has entered full mass production in Dark Cherry, Sky Blue, and Black, and that Silver will most likely not be offered. Sonny Dickson then posted SIM trays that look like Dark Cherry, Sky Blue, and Silver. Dummy units earlier in the year showed all four. Apple has not confirmed any of it.

Dark Cherry is the one name that keeps coming back. Apple analyst Mark Gurman first called the hero shade a deep red. Later supply-chain notes framed it as a wine-like mix of burgundy, coffee, and purple, the replacement for last year’s Cosmic Orange on the iPhone 17 Pro. Sky Blue is described as a quieter, almost silvery blue. Black would return after sitting out the 17 Pro lineup. Silver is the leftover fight.

WHAT WE KNOW

• Hero finish: Dark Cherry is in dummy units, SIM trays, and the latest mass-production leak, and it is the shade meant to replace Cosmic Orange.
• Event date: Apple is set to show the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max on September 9, with the first foldable iPhone due on September 9 as well.
• Third color: Every recent leak agrees there are three Pro colors, not four, once the dummies are ignored.

WHAT IS UNCONFIRMED

• Black or Silver: Fixed Focus Digital has not seen Silver in China; Dickson’s trays still show it.
• Names on the box: Sky Blue, Light Blue, Dark Gray, and Burgundy have all been used for the same two supporting finishes.

Poco did not wait. Its Japan account spent late August selling the F9 Ultra in Dark Cherry, the same English name, on a phone that is already in shops.

【Xiaomi製品が当たる抽選企画開催】
POCO F9 Ultraの新色。ダークチェリー。めちゃくちゃかっこいいよ。

発売記念として、「This is _ cherry.」の「_」に入る一言を引用リポストで教えてね。
抽選で5名様に、今月末に発売されるXiaomi新製品をプレゼントするよ!!https://t.co/LvSag1rrCg pic.twitter.com/nv9luolHNR

— POCO Japan (@POCO_Japan) August 25, 2026

Case makers are circulating Dark Cherry iPhone 18 Pro dummy unboxings faster than the usual rumor accounts. The color argument is a pre-event sport. The phones that actually went on sale this stretch were Android.

What the Xiaomi 18 Fold Puts on Stage on September 7

Xiaomi scheduled its autumn event in China for 7 p.m. local time on September 7, with the 18 Fold as the lead phone, the Pad 9 Pro Max as the same-chip tablet, and three Pengcheng electric vehicles on the same bill. The foldable was shown in the flesh at IFA 2026 in Berlin, a short-and-wide inward fold with a 5.38-inch cover, a 7.58-inch inner panel, a red finish, and a Leica-branded triple camera. Global availability is still unannounced. Complete camera megapixel claims do not yet agree, so the safe description is the one Xiaomi has already put on a stage: Leica triple, new hinge, new chip.

The chip is the reason to care. Xiaomi unveiled the Xring O3 on August 24 as a 10-core, all-big-core part on TSMC’s N3P node, a 133 mm² die with 24 billion transistors. It skips the O2 name. The CPU uses Arm C1 cores, two C1-Ultra at 4.35 GHz, four C1-Premium at 3.68 GHz, and four C1-Pro at 3.15 GHz, the same IP family MediaTek put in the Dimensity 9500. Graphics are a 16-core G2-Ultra NX GPU. Xiaomi’s own slides put the GPU 85% ahead of the older Xring O1, using 64% less power, and 182% quicker at ray tracing. The NPU is quoted at 200 TOPS. AnTuTu V11 is listed at 5,228,014. Geekbench 6.5 is listed at 3,945 single-core and 15,221 multi-core, 31% and 61% above the O1.

XRING O3 ON PAPER

• Process and size: TSMC N3P, 133 mm², 24 billion transistors, no efficiency cores.
• Memory first: Native LPDDR6-10667 over four 24-bit channels, 113.8 GB/s, about 48% more bandwidth than the O1, 82 ns quoted access latency.
• The phone around it: 6,000 mAh cell, 67W wired charging, 5.38-inch cover and 7.58-inch inner displays.
• Who made the RAM: ChangXin Memory Technologies, with Xiaomi first in line after CXMT started LPDDR6 mass production at the end of August; founder Lei Jun confirmed the pairing.

Chip analyst Geekerwan’s early efficiency work puts the O3 close to Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 performance at about half the power, at sensible clocks. Those are lab curves, not a week of a foldable in a pocket. Nobody outside Xiaomi has logged a retail unit yet, and every GPU percentage above is measured against Xiaomi’s own previous chip. The part that is not a slide is the memory: LPDDR6 is leaving the lab inside a product people can buy in China on September 7.

THE WEEK’S HARDWARE CALENDAR

1. August 24, 2026: Xiaomi unveils the Xring O3 and points it at the 18 Fold and Pad 9 Pro Max.
2. August 31, 2026: A 4x 1/1.9-inch zoom leak lands for the Galaxy S27 Ultra, and the Tab S12 Ultra appears on Geekbench 7.
3. September 1, 2026: Poco announces the F9 Pro and F9 Ultra worldwide.
4. September 7, 2026: Xiaomi’s China event is set to put the 18 Fold and Pad 9 Pro Max on stage.
5. September 9, 2026: Apple’s iPhone event is scheduled.
6. September 10, 2026: The vivo T5 5G goes on sale in China at CNY 1,999 ($280).

The 18 Fold is also a supply-chain statement. A Chinese phone maker is launching a flagship foldable on its own 3nm application processor and Chinese LPDDR6, while its Poco sub-brand still buys Qualcomm for the global slugger. That split is the week’s actual product map.

Poco Wants Flagship Money for That Spec Sheet

Poco unveiled the F9 Pro and F9 Ultra on September 1 as unapologetic spec piles: 185Hz AMOLED, 200MP main cameras, 100W wired and 50W wireless charging, IP68, and Bose-tuned speakers. The Ultra adds a rear subwoofer for a 2.1-channel setup and a notification light around that speaker. The Pro’s Aurora Green back can glow in the dark after a charge from sunlight or indoor light.

The Ultra runs the full 4.74GHz Oryon CPU and Adreno GPU in Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the chip Qualcomm rates at 20% more CPU performance, 35% better CPU efficiency, 23% more graphics performance, and a 37% faster Hexagon NPU than its prior Elite. The Pro uses the V series (SM8850-1-AB). Qualcomm’s own documents describe that SKU as an Adreno 840 with one fewer GPU slice. Both phones add a VisionBoost D8 chip that Poco says can push supported games to 185fps. Software is HyperOS 3 on Android 16, with four promised updates.

POCO F9 PRO VERSUS F9 ULTRA

Both phones share 4,500 nits peak over a 25% window, 100W wired, 50W wireless, and 22.5W reverse wireless charging. The Ultra’s 200MP main uses a 1/1.56-inch sensor; its 5x periscope is a 50MP ISOCELL JN5 and the ultrawide a 50MP OV50M. Euro list prices start at €899.99 for the Pro and €1,099.99 for the Ultra, with early-bird cuts to €739.99 and €829.99. In Malaysia the Pro opens at RM3,299, RM800 above the previous F-series sticker, and the Ultra at RM3,599. Japan’s early-bird ask is 129,800 yen, with Japan launch offers for the F9 series bundled around that figure.

That is a long way from the old Poco pitch. Early Ultra units are already in pockets, and the first owners are talking about a workday of battery, not about 185Hz as a brag. One Japanese user still had 88% at mid-afternoon after a normal morning. Fans who built their idea of Poco on yellow finishes asked, under the Dark Cherry campaign, where the yellow went. The brand that trained people to expect a flagship chip at midrange money is now charging near-flagship money for the spec sheet those people asked for.

The vivo T5 5G is the reminder of where cheap actually lives. It is official at a 6.67-inch 120Hz AMOLED, Snapdragon 6 Gen 4, 7,000mAh, 90W charging, 50MP main, IP65, and OriginOS 6 on Android 16, from CNY 1,999 ($280) for 8/256GB, on sale in China on September 10.

One Bigger Zoom Instead of Two

Samsung’s Galaxy S27 Ultra is still about half a year out, and the camera deck is not locked. Tipster phonefuturist said Samsung is evaluating a 50MP 4x “super telephoto” with a 1/1.9-inch sensor, a larger chip than the 50MP 5x 1/2.52-inch periscope on the S26 Ultra, and a replacement for the weak 10MP 3x that sat beside it. The same account said the upgrade is being weighed against bill of materials. If the quality jump is not large enough, the 5x unit can stay. Five Ultra prototypes are in the mix.

OnLeaks has completed the CAD-based renders of the Galaxy S27 Ultra, confirming that my information was completely accurate. You can hate it, you can reject it, but this is the reality.

Ice Universe, analyst, on X

Ice Universe’s CAD point is the move from four rear cameras to three. Intermediate 2x and 3x would be crops from a 200MP main. On paper the 1/1.9-inch 4x is also larger than the 1/2.55-inch-class 4x used on the iPhone 17 Pro models, which is the comparison the rumor is built to invite. In practice the two sensors sit closer than the fraction names imply. Either way, Samsung is testing fewer lenses and more glass area, the opposite of adding another module for a press-slide zoom number.

Camera Bumps Keep Growing in China

While Apple’s feed is colors, Oppo and vivo are arguing with island size. Leaked Find X10 Pro Max renders show a wide camera plateau across the upper back, blue and white Hasselblad finishes, and a two-tone white. Rumors put three 200MP rear cameras behind that plateau, with a Dimensity 9600 Pro. Oppo has already teased a Find X10 with dual 200MP and a Pro Max as the triple-200MP option. The series is expected in China later in September.

The vivo X500 Pro Max showed up in an alleged photo and a hands-on video with a circular island even larger than the X300 Ultra’s, plus a rotating outer ring with ISO-style markings that look like physical camera controls. Expected glass is a 50MP 1/1.28-inch main, a 200MP 1/1.4-inch telephoto, and a 50MP ultrawide. vivo has already confirmed 4K at 240fps for the Pro series.

FOUR CAMERA BETS ON THE TABLE

• Apple iPhone 18 Pro: The public fight is Dark Cherry versus last year’s Cosmic Orange; hardware rumors sit behind the September 9 curtain.
• Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra: A single 4x 1/1.9-inch telephoto is under test as a replacement for 3x plus 5x, still months from Unpacked.
• Oppo Find X10 Pro Max: A wide Hasselblad plateau and a rumored triple 200MP stack, aimed at China later in September.
• vivo X500 Pro Max: A circular island with a rotating control ring, 200MP telephoto, and confirmed 4K 240fps video.

Poco’s 200MP main and 5x periscope sit in that same arms race at a lower price, without pretending the island is a design philosophy. Xiaomi’s Fold, if the IFA unit is the guide, is using the Leica badge and the chip instead of a sixth camera.

Samsung’s Flagship Tablet Stays on a Dimensity Chip

The Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra (Wi-Fi model SM-X940) appeared on Geekbench 7 with MediaTek’s Dimensity 9500, 12GB of RAM, and Android 17. It scored 2,760 single-core and 9,291 multi-core. Clocks match the standard 9500, one core at 4.21 GHz, three at 3.50 GHz, four at 2.70 GHz, not a Plus variant. Last year’s Tab S11 Ultra used a Dimensity 9400 Plus and scored 2,281 and 8,005 on the same test suite, so the new listing is about 21% higher in single-core and 16% in multi-core. Android 17 versus Android 16 is part of that gap. Samsung is expected to show the Tab S12 Ultra with the Tab S12+ later in September. Carryover rumors still point to a 14.6-inch panel, an 11,600mAh battery, and 45W charging.

TAB S12 ULTRA GEEKBENCH 7

Samsung had Snapdragon 8 series flagship chips available for a tablet at this price and still sent the Ultra back to MediaTek. Xiaomi, on the same calendar, is putting its own 3nm part into a foldable. Poco, the sister brand, is still paying Qualcomm and asking $799. That is the split the color leak was loud enough to bury.

Apple’s September 9 event will settle Dark Cherry, Black, and Silver, and it may add camera hardware the leaks have not locked. Xiaomi’s China stage on September 7 is already booked for a foldable that ships with homemade silicon and the first LPDDR6 in a phone. The paint argument can wait two days. The chip is on a calendar.