Xiaomi and Huawei Fold First, Days Before Apple's Event

Xiaomi and Huawei each launched new foldable smartphones ahead of Apple's product event, where Apple is rumored to unveil its first foldable iPhone; Apple shares traded at 316.06, down 1.22% on the day as of 16:32 GMT on Sept. 8, 2026.

Xiaomi and Huawei have each launched new foldable smartphones in the days running up to Apple's product event, where the company is widely rumored to show its first folding iPhone. The timing is not accidental. Both Chinese manufacturers have spent years building the category while Apple stayed out of it, and both now face the prospect of the industry's largest brand validating the form factor and taking a share of it.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares were changing hands at 316.06 as of 16:32 GMT on Sept. 8, 2026, down 1.22% from the previous close of 319.97, with the day's range running from 315.27 to 320.70. The broader tape was mixed at the same moment: the Nasdaq 100 tracker was fractionally higher at $719.28, up 0.04%, while the S&P 500 proxy sat at $767.22, down 0.39%, and the Dow tracker fell 1.05% to $528.49. Apple, in other words, was underperforming a technology index that was flat on the session.

Why launching first is the whole point

In smartphones, the value of going first is not the sales made in the intervening days. It is the framing. Whoever ships before an Apple event gets to define the vocabulary reviewers use afterwards — thickness, crease, hinge cycles, battery life in the folded state — and forces the newcomer to be measured against an existing product rather than against expectations it set itself.

That matters more than usual here because Apple would be arriving late to a segment it did not create. Xiaomi and Huawei have iterated through multiple generations of folding hardware and, critically, through the supply chain problems that come with it: flexible display panels, hinge tolerances, and the durability testing that determines whether a device survives contact with real customers. A first-generation Apple foldable, whatever it looks like, is a first-generation device competing with hardware that has already been through those cycles.

CNBC reported the two launches landing ahead of Apple's event.

The category needs Apple more than Apple needs the category

Foldables have been a premium niche since they appeared: expensive, structurally complicated, and sold in volumes that are small relative to the slab-format phones that still carry the industry. The bull case for the segment has always leaned on one assumption — that Apple would eventually enter, drag component costs down through sheer procurement scale, and give the format the mainstream credibility that marketing budgets alone have not bought.

If that entry is now imminent, the second-order effects run through the supply chain rather than through Apple's own income statement. Flexible display makers, hinge specialists and cover-glass suppliers would be looking at a step change in order volumes. Component pricing tends to fall as those volumes rise, which in turn improves the economics for Xiaomi and Huawei as well. A rising tide is genuinely possible here in a way it is not in most competitive launches.

The offsetting risk for the incumbents is brand gravity. Buyers who have wanted a folding phone but were unwilling to leave iOS to get one represent demand that has been sitting in wait. That is the cohort a foldable iPhone would capture first, and it is the cohort Xiaomi and Huawei have had the least success converting.

Where the two Chinese firms are not on the same footing

Xiaomi and Huawei are frequently grouped together, but their positions differ in a way that shapes how each competes with Apple. Huawei's business has been reconstructed under export restrictions, which has pushed it toward domestic components and domestic software, and has concentrated its handset strength inside China. Xiaomi sells across a far broader international footprint and competes head-on with Apple in markets where both are freely available.

The practical consequence is that an Apple foldable is a more direct threat to Xiaomi's addressable market than to Huawei's. Huawei's contest with Apple is largely fought in one country, where national-brand preference has been a real commercial force. Xiaomi's is fought in dozens.

What the share price is and is not telling you

Apple's decline on the session should not be read as a verdict on a product that has not been announced. A move of that size on a day when the Dow tracker fell more than a percent is ordinary index-level noise, and Apple's day range stayed narrow relative to the previous close. Pre-event trading in Apple has historically been driven as much by positioning as by information, because the information does not exist yet.

The figures worth watching come later. A foldable iPhone would sit at the top of Apple's pricing ladder, which means the questions for investors are about average selling price and mix, not unit share of a small category. If a folding device pulls buyers up the price stack, it is accretive to revenue per handset even at modest volumes. If it cannibalizes the existing high-end line, it is not.

What to watch next

• Whether Apple confirms a foldable at all, and if so whether it ships this year or is previewed for a later date.
• Pricing, and specifically where a foldable sits relative to Apple's current top-of-range phone.
• Any commentary from display and hinge suppliers on order volumes, which would confirm or deny the scale of Apple's commitment.
• How Xiaomi and Huawei respond on price after the event — discounting into an Apple launch would signal they expect share loss.
• Apple's next set of reported results for evidence of a mix shift rather than a unit shift.

For now the sequence is the story: two established players moved first, and the company with the most to gain from the category has yet to say what it is doing.

Key facts

• Apple share price: AAPL at 316.06, -1.22%, as of 16:32 GMT Sept. 8, 2026
• Previous close: 319.97; day range 315.27–320.70
• Launches ahead of event: Xiaomi and Huawei both released new foldable phones
• Benchmark context: Nasdaq 100 tracker +0.04% at $719.28; S&P 500 tracker -0.39% at $767.22

Frequently asked questions

What did Xiaomi and Huawei announce?

Both Chinese handset makers launched new foldable smartphones in the run-up to Apple's product event. The launches position them ahead of Apple in a category both companies have been building for several generations, and ensure their hardware is in the market and reviewed before any Apple folding device is shown.

Has Apple confirmed a foldable iPhone?

No. Apple is rumored to unveil its first foldable iPhone at its event, but the company has not confirmed the product. Until Apple makes an announcement, specifications, pricing and availability are unverified. Investors should treat pre-event reporting on the device as speculation rather than as company guidance.

How did Apple stock trade on the day?

Apple was quoted at 316.06 as of 16:32 GMT on Sept. 8, 2026, down 1.22% from the previous close of 319.97, with an intraday range of 315.27 to 320.70. That move came on a mixed session in which the Dow tracker fell 1.05% while the Nasdaq 100 tracker was fractionally higher.

Why does it matter who launches first?

Launching before a rival's event shapes how the later product is judged. Reviewers compare the newcomer against hardware already on sale, on measures such as thickness, hinge durability and battery life. It also gives incumbents a window to sell into demand before the largest brand in the market gives buyers a reason to wait.

Would an Apple foldable help or hurt Xiaomi and Huawei?

Both. Apple entering the category would likely lift component volumes and lower costs across the flexible display and hinge supply chain, which benefits all makers. But it would also capture buyers who wanted a folding phone and were unwilling to leave Apple's software ecosystem — the group Chinese rivals have found hardest to convert.

Are Xiaomi and Huawei in the same competitive position?

Not quite. Huawei's handset business has been rebuilt under export restrictions and is concentrated heavily in its domestic market, where national-brand preference is a commercial factor. Xiaomi sells across a much broader international footprint and competes directly with Apple in many markets, so an Apple foldable touches more of its addressable demand.

Sources

• Chinese giants Xiaomi, Huawei race to get ahead of Apple’s rumored foldable iPhone — CNBC Technology

Photo: Sanket Mishra · Pexels Licence — source