Xiaomi to go big next year with three foldable smartphones, details revealed

The three foldable handsets are said to come in three different designs – out-folding, in-folding and clamshell. It has not been confirmed, which of these three will be launching first.

Xiaomi. (Reuters)

Looks like 2021 is turning out to be the year of foldable smartphones. While Samsung has already indicated the launch of several foldable handsets in the affordable segment for next year, Xiaomi is now also said to launch three foldable devices in 2021. This piece of news doesn't come from the company but from the CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants, Ross Young via Twitter. 

The three foldable handsets are said to come in three different designs – out-folding, in-folding and clamshell. It has not been confirmed, which of these three will be launching first. 

Not sure which
mobile to buy?

So the next foldable to hit the market will likely be from Xiaomi who is expected to have 3 foldables in the market in 2021. They will actually have all 3 types. The first will be outfolding, the second will be in-folding and the third will be clamshell.

— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) December 24, 2020

But from the looks of it, Xiaomi might be launching the clamshell-type handset first. That's because a report from earlier this year claimed that Xiaomi is ordering Samsung and LG displays for the clamshell design type. 

In a separate tweet, Young mentioned that Samsung could also launch its rumored Galaxy Z Fold 3, the name of which is not final yet, with smaller screen sizes than its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Fold 2.

He says that the main display will shrink from 7.59-inch to 7.55-inch, while the outer display will be 6.2-inches as compared to the current Z Fold 2's 6.23-inch. Smaller screens will let Samsung include the S Pen. It's worth adding that Samsung has already confirmed that it's upcoming foldables will be supporting the S Pen accessory.

As per the reports, the Galaxy S21 Ultra will feature support for S-Pen stylus. In addition to that, Young says that the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip Lite will get a slightly bigger 6.70-inches display along with a 120Hz display. Similarly, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 will come with LTPO technology.