No Mix Fold 5: Xiaomi 17 Fold major name change revealed with early 2026 launch possible
Xiaomi has just released new flagship candybar smartphones in its home market. As we have discussed separately, the company has introduced the Xiaomi 17, Xiaomi 17 Pro and Xiaomi 17 Pro Max to directly rival the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. By contrast, an alternative to the Oppo Find N5, Magic V5 and Galaxy Z Fold7 (curr. $1,899 on Amazon) is nowhere to be seen.
Typically, Xiaomi would have unveiled a new foldable under its MIX Fold line by now. To recap, the company has been offering annual MIX Fold refreshes since 2021, when it introduced the original Mix Fold. However, reports from the start of the year indicated that Xiaomi had cancelled its plans to offer a MIX Fold 5 in 2025.
Seemingly, Xiaomi has now restarted development of its next foldable, with the release of all major book-style foldables now out of the way. For the time being, Xiaomi is rumoured to be developing the device under the model number '26023PN08C', which implies that an early 2026 launch around February is on the cards.
With that being said, the inclusion of 'PN' rather than 'PX' in the device's model number suggests that Xiaomi is developing 26023PN08C as a member of its main flagship series like the Xiaomi 17 before it. Considering that the Xiaomi 17 Ultra has been spotted with a different model number, XiaomiTime has inferred that Xiaomi may offer the 26023PN08C as the Xiaomi 17 Fold. Incidentally, camera hardware details have also emerged online, full coverage of which we have provided separately.
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