How Xiaomi, Oppo and other non-US brands are challenging the iPhone Duo

The foldable phone market heats up as new competitors emerge.

While Apple is already selling the iPhone 18 Pro, the world is waiting for the iPhone Duo — the first foldable iPhone. It won't hit stores until October 23, with pre-orders beginning a week earlier.

But Apple's competitors have had their eyes on it for quite some time. In fact, the market has been gearing up for the iPhone Duo long before Apple even officially announced it. That's no wonder, since there was a lot of anticipation about what exactly Apple would do differently in the foldable device world that's been around for some time now.

The competition will be fierce: Xiaomi, Oppo, Motorola and Samsung are just a few examples of companies that have been exploring the idea of foldable phones that look a lot like the iPhone Duo. And like the Duo, most of them now have a foldable device in a "passport" format. But will that be enough to compete with Apple?

The Xiaomi 18 Fold arrived just days before the iPhone Duo was unveiled, and specs-wise, they're quite similar. Both have a 7.6-inch inner screen and a 5.4-inch outer screen with the same aspect ratio, giving the phone a passport-like shape. But there are a few areas where the Xiaomi 18 Fold comes out on top: it's lighter than the iPhone Duo, weighing 219 grams compared to the iPhone's 254 grams.

The Chinese brand is also betting on a better camera setup, with three lenses on the back. iPhone users who opt for the Duo will miss out on that extra optical zoom range. The price is also more aggressive: Xiaomi's foldable phone starts at 10,999 yuan (about $1,640), but it will only be available in China for now.

In the US, the iPhone Duo's main competitor is likely to be Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold8 . The new base Z Fold ditches the near-square design of previous models in favor of the wider "passport" shape, with 7.6-inch and 5.5-inch screens. Unlike Xiaomi, Samsung opted for a straighter design with no curved corners. Our review gave it an 8.9 out of 10 and called it a better device for watching shows and movies than the more expensive Z Fold8 Ultra , which keeps the original square-ish shape. It also has two rear cameras, like Apple's model.

The Z Fold8 definitely turned heads after its launch in August, but the Duo could put an end to that. Samsung's offering begins at $1,900, only $100 less than the iPhone Duo's starting price.