Xiaomi's trifold might've just shown up the same week Samsung had the spotlight

What you need to know

• Xiaomi was rumored to have a trifold in the works in 2024, and after a period of silence, it has seemingly appeared in a GSMA database.
• With only a model number to go on, rumors claim the device could be branded the "Mix Trifold" with a late 2026 launch window in mind.
• Earlier rumors clocked a patent in China, which showcased early renders of the phone with the Mix Fold 3's horizontal camera bar.

Eyebrows are raised over a recent report that claims Xiaomi's rumored trifold phone just surfaced in an overseas database.

The rumor was highlighted in a report by Xiaomi Time, which claims that Xiaomi's trifold just arrived for certification in the GSMA database (via GSMArena). The device, which could allegedly debut as the "MIX Trifold," was spotted in the database bearing model number 2608BPX34C.

There's nothing "more interesting," per se, following this database discovery; however, a potential timeframe might've been narrowed down.

The publication claims that there are two other Xiaomi foldables planned for 2026, just earlier in the year. While each of those bears model numbers of its own, this third one could indicate its long-rumored trifold is still coming along. According to the rumors, the first foldables Xiaomi has planned are speculated to be its next book-style and clamshell phones, the MIX Flip 3 and 17 Fold.

This trifold device could eye a late 2026 release, somewhere around Q3, which gives us a July to September timeframe to look out for.

It's been over a year

It's been well over a year since we started hearing about a potential Xiaomi trifold, as some of the earliest surfaced in the summer of 2024. Those rumors claimed that Xiaomi was wasting no time in hopping on the trifold bandwagon after Huawei dropped that trifold surprise, the Mate XT. Of course, Samsung was mentioned due to its prototype at the time.

While those rumors were extremely early, there was speculation about whether or not Xiaomi would improve the crease effect foldables can suffer from with this new form.

Reports continued into the fall in 2024, as the device's patent was supposedly spotted running through a Chinese database. That patent delivered an alleged early design concept for it, with a horizontal camera bar that was reminiscent of the Mix Fold 3. That design iteration also only showed three lenses on that bar, instead of four. We're now (over) 365 days from those rumors, and there's a chance things have changed.

If we are looking at a 2026 debut for the device, as the rumors say, the Mix Trifold or whatever it'll be called might look quite different.