Database suggests that Mix Fold 4 will be the first Xiaomi foldable with a global variant

Xiaomi released the Mix Fold 3, its most recent book-style foldable, back in August but the sequel to the device, the Mix Fold 4, has already surfaced on the GSMA IMEI database. Every individual phone has a unique ISMI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) number that is used to track it for various reasons. According to GSMChina (via mysmartprice), the Mix Fold 4 has two different model numbers, 2405CPX3DC and 2405CPX3DG.

The eagle-eyed reader will notice that the two model numbers are the same except for the last letter which is "C" for the first listing and "G" for the second one. Readers who love looking for little anomalies and picking out patterns will figure out that the "C" probably stands for China and the G indicates Global. That's right, for the first time, Xiaomi is planning to release a global variant of a foldable phone.

The number in front of the model number, 2405, also contains a clue. The 24 stands for 2024, and the 05 indicates that we should to expect the Mix Fold 4 to be released in May 2024. That is, assuming that Xiaomi actually uses such a code to determine model numbers. Also spotted earlier in the same IMEI database was a clamshell foldable that is expected to be called the Mix Flip. This would be the first clamshell-style foldable produced by Xiaomi.

Xiaomi has come a long way since the early days when it was derided for copying Apple and was known as the "Apple of China." After all, it can't be accused of copying Apple with the Mix Fold line, can it? Xiaomi caught on in India and other markets with its value-for-money offerings and now has a rather broad lineup that has made it the third-largest smartphone company in the world after Samsung and Apple.

When former Googler Hugo Barra joined Xiaomi in 2013, there was talk about Xiaomi shipping to the States and Barra said in 2016 that Xiaomi could not afford to stay out of the U.S. market and would be shipping to the U.S. soon. More than seven years have gone by since the former executive said this (he left Xiaomi in 2017) and while the company still does not ship directly to the U.S., it has thrived.