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Leaked images shared by Weibo user Peter show what appears to be an engineering prototype of the Xiaomi 18 Fold, a book-style folding phone with a camera island resembling the rumored iPhone Ultra design. The device reportedly comes in a dark cherry color, echoing speculation about one of the iPhone 18 Pro's colorways.
Tipster Tarun Vats found a new internal test build ending in "ZZHK" on Samsung's servers, suggesting a seventh One UI 9 beta for the Galaxy S26 series may still be coming despite six betas already released. A separate internal build ending in "BZHI" was also spotted, which Vats speculates could instead be the first stable release candidate.
Apple has confirmed a product event for September 9 at the Steve Jobs Theater, with invitations carrying the tagline 'Surprise and shine.' The showcase is expected to include updated iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models, and possibly Apple's first foldable iPhone, reportedly using a book-style design similar to Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8.
Samsung has launched the Galaxy S26 FE with nearly identical specs to last year's S25 FE, including the same 6.7-inch OLED display, 4,900mAh battery, and triple rear camera. The main changes are an upgraded Exynos 2500 chipset, a slightly wider selfie camera, new color options, and a redesigned camera island, but the phone now starts at $699.99, a $50 increase over its predecessor.
New real-world images shared on Weibo reveal the unreleased Xiaomi 18 Fold in a dark red color, showing its triple-rear-camera module for the first time after earlier leaks kept the cameras hidden. The design closely resembles Huawei's Pura X Max, and the device is expected to debut with Xiaomi's new in-house XRing O3 chipset sometime in September.
Ahead of Apple's expected September 9 unveiling of its first foldable iPhone, research firm IDC forecasts the device will ship more than 10 million units within its debut year despite a rumored price around $2,500. The estimate aligns with a separate Counterpoint Research forecast projecting Apple will capture 25% of foldable smartphone shipments in 2026, as Samsung's share slips from 40% to 32%.
A CNET poll of 2,605 US adults found that three-quarters have no interest in purchasing a foldable Apple device, even as rumors point to Apple unveiling its first foldable iPhone, dubbed the iPhone Ultra, at a September event. Analysts expect the device to cost between $2,000 and $2,500, but survey respondents said they'd only be willing to spend an average of $781 on such a phone.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that Apple will raise prices by at least $100 on the iPhone 18 Pro and other devices unveiled at its September event, pushing the Pro model to roughly $1,200. The increase is linked to an AI-driven RAM shortage squeezing supply across phones, laptops and consoles, and follows earlier price hikes this summer on select MacBooks, iPads and HomePods.
Mark Gurman reports that Apple insiders who've handled the upcoming foldable iPhone Ultra praise its pocketability, hinge durability, iPad-style app layouts on its roughly 7.8-inch inner screen, and its usefulness as a camera viewfinder. The device, expected to launch soon with a 5.5-inch outer display, is rumored to cost over $2,000 and use Touch ID rather than Face ID, with only a main and ultra-wide camera.
Google unveiled the Pixel 11 Pro Fold as part of its Pixel 11 lineup, offering a slimmer and 19-gram lighter design compared to last year's Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Despite these physical refinements, a hands-on comparison found the changes largely cosmetic, with the device still lagging behind Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra in overall polish and innovation.