Xiaomi’s Donovan Sung talks 5G and why it’s holding back on foldables for now

Two of the big talking points of MWC Barcelona this year are, undoubtedly, 5G and foldables. While Samsung elected to forgo MWC this year to host its own launch event that included a 5G phone and a new device with a foldable form factor (which also has a 5G variant), other manufacturers chose the annual technology event to showcase their 5G and foldable smarts.

Huawei unveiled the $2,600 5G foldable Mate X on Sunday, while fellow Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi unveiled its first 5G phone — the Mi Mix 3 5G, which was most certainly not a foldable. Then came the Xiaomi Mi 9, which had some impressive specs of its own, but — alas — there was not a fold in sight. The “one more thing” at the end of its keynote elicited an excited chorus of gasps around the auditorium, only for Xiaomi to reveal the Mi LED smart bulb. And that was it.