Xiaomi Plans to 'Catch Up and Beat' the iPhone Following Mix Fold 3 Announcement

Xiaomi founder and chief executive Lei Jun this week said that the company is using Apple's iPhone as a benchmark to "catch up and beat it one day" (via South China Morning Post).

xiaomi lei jun
During the announcement of its latest flagship foldable smartphone, the Mix Fold 3, Lei repeatedly compared the new device to the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max. He stopped short of mentioning Xiaomi's aim to become the world's biggest smartphone vendor, a goal he first mentioned in August 2021.

Lei often attempts to characterize Xiaomi as a major rival to Apple, but the company's $40 billion market capitalization pales in comparison to Apple's almost $3 trillion valuation. Nevertheless, in the second quarter of 2021, Apple's ‌iPhone‌ sales were briefly surpassed by Xiaomi for the first time.

Xiaomi is actively aiming to capture the global high-end smartphone segment. Last year, Lei described competition with Apple as "a war of life and death." Xiaomi reportedly intends to attract more customers by distinguishing itself from other major Chinese Android smartphone brands that are also targeting Apple's lucrative high-end segment by focusing on user experience, as well as filling the void left by the likes of Huawei.

The Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 features an 8-inch AMOLED display, a 5x periscopic zoom camera, Leica optics, Qualcomm's second-generation Snapdragon processor, and 50W wireless charging. It starts at $1,240 and is currently available in China only.

Tag: Xiaomi

Popular Stories

streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 27 Will Reportedly Have Two Key Upgrades

Sunday November 23, 2025 8:48 am PST by
iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features. Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now on AirPods, iPads, Accessories, and More

Friday November 21, 2025 8:48 am PST by
We're only a few days away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date. Keep reading...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 18 Pro Looks Like a Huge Upgrade

Friday November 21, 2025 9:10 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the new features and improvements expected to come to next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple's next-generation iPhones are less than ten months away and we already have a good idea about what to expect based on corroborated leaks, rumors,...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Three Breakthrough Features

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include three standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
apple news banner

Apple News Loses CNN

Monday November 24, 2025 7:56 am PST by
American multinational news company CNN has abruptly pulled its content from Apple News, Semafor reports. CNN quietly removed its stories from Apple News over the weekend and there is no longer a feed from the network to subscribe to in the app. This effectively ends its distribution agreement with Apple while the two sides negotiate new terms. Discussions are apparently ongoing and CNN's...
amazon black friday

Amazon Kicks Off Black Friday Sale With Major Discounts on Apple Accessories, TVs, and More

Sunday November 23, 2025 7:12 am PST by
Black Friday deals have begun, and Amazon is one of the best places you can find steep discounts on numerous products this week. We've already collected all of the best Apple-related deals you'll find at Amazon (and other retailers) in our Apple Black Friday Deals post, so below you'll find other discounts on devices like Anker accessories, Beats headphones, video games, TVs, and more. Note:...
Apple Shopping Event 2025

Apple Announces 2025 Black Friday Event, Here's What You Can Get

Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others. During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...

Top Rated Comments

Born Again Avatar
30 months ago
Competition is great! Maybe Apple will be forced to keep their prices competitive. Anyone rooting against Xiaomi doesn’t understand the impacts long term to consumers.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
abatabia Avatar
30 months ago
Cute, but they won’t. They’re welcome to try.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Knowledge Navigator Avatar
30 months ago
Any competition is good, regardless whether you like their products or not.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Aratim Avatar
30 months ago
would rather buy this than xiaomi



Attachment Image
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NEPOBABY Avatar
30 months ago
Nah they'll end up even worse than Huawei.

Especially if it is found out they were flooding the global market with cheap subsidised phones that phone home to you know who.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lkrupp Avatar
30 months ago
They all want to be the next Steve Jobs. That ain't gonna happen.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)