Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun Was Just Spotted With a Mystery Foldable Phone

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun may have just given us an early look at the company's next foldable. A new photo shows him holding an unreleased red foldable phone with a wide design and large rounded corners. Xiaomi hasn't said what the device is, but there is already one clear suspect: the upcoming Xiaomi MIX Fold 5.

And if that is really what Lei Jun is holding, Xiaomi may be planning a bigger change than we expected.

The phone looks quite different from the usual tall and narrow foldable design. It appears wider when closed, with rounded corners that give it a shape closer to a small tablet.

We can't see enough of the phone to confirm all the details. Still, the design seems to match earlier leaks linked to the MIX Fold 5. The front camera is also said to sit near the top-right corner of the display.

Here's the thing, though. Xiaomi has not confirmed the name. So while calling this the MIX Fold 5 makes sense, I wouldn't treat that as fact just yet. Lei Jun could be testing another foldable prototype that we haven't heard about.

To be honest, that would make the story even more interesting.

The bigger surprise may be under the hood. Xiaomi's HyperOS 4 material has linked its next foldable to the XRING O3, a new version of the company's own mobile chip. If that information is correct, Xiaomi could use the new foldable to push its custom silicon plans much further.

That matters because foldable phones are not easy to build around. Battery life, heat and performance all have to work inside a body with much less room than a normal phone.

Using its own chip would give Xiaomi more control over all three.

There is another reason to watch this phone closely. Xiaomi launched the MIX Fold 4 in 2024 with a thin design, Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and four rear cameras, but the series did not get its usual yearly refresh in 2025.

That gives Xiaomi plenty of room for a bigger upgrade this time.

We still don't know when the mystery foldable will launch, how much it will cost or whether Xiaomi plans to sell it outside China. The latest report says the device is expected to remain China-only, although even that isn't official yet.

Still, seeing an unreleased phone in the hands of Xiaomi's CEO is a pretty good sign that something is getting close.

And personally, I like the wider design. Foldables have spent years becoming thinner and lighter. Maybe changing their shape is the next upgrade that will actually make them better to use.