Huawei's Mate XT, the world’s first tri-fold smartphone, has surpassed 4 million pre-orders in China, just a few days after it launched. Picture: X / @HuaweiMobile
Having officially launched just hours after the iPhone 16 series, the Huawei Mate XT is positioning itself as a fierce competitor to Apple in the Chinese tech market, with over 4 million pre-orders in China alone, less than five days after its launch.
The entire global market for foldable phones was around 4 million units in the second quarter, according to research from global market firm IDC.
“Today we bring you a product that everyone can think of but could not make,” said Hauwei executive director, Richard Yu, at the launch in Shenzen, China.
“Today we will once again rewrite the history of the industry, turn science fiction into reality, and lead a new era of folding devices,” he added.
“Our team has been working hard for five years and has never given up,” he also said, referring to the negative impact that the 2019 US ban on Google services being supplied to Huawei had, which saw it crashing from a global number two ranking.
The revolutionary tri-fold smartphone will hit the market next Friday, the same day as when the iPhone 16 series goes on sale in China and several other countries around the world.
The Mate XT comes in red and black only and is a traditional smartphone with a single screen when fully folded, a mini-tablet with 7.9-inch display when partially unfolded, and has a 10.2-inch screen when fully expanded.
At 3.6mm wide, Hauwei has made the Mate XT to be the world’s thinnest foldable phone, and has a keyboard attachment small enough to fit in your pocket.
The phone’s specifications include a 50 MP main lens for the rear camera, a 12 MP ultra-wide lens, and a 12 MP telephoto lens offering 5.5x optical zoom. The front-facing camera, which looks like a punch-hole cutout, is an 8 MP shooter.
Its operating system runs on Huawei’s HarmonyOS 4.2 and integrates artificial intelligence, with features such as an AI assistant that provides text summary and translation as well as AI-boosted image editing functions, said Yu.
Apple has yet to announce an AI partner to power the iPhone 16 series and Apple Intelligence in China, the company’s AI software will only be available in Chinese languages next year.
The Huawei Mate XT boasts a luxurious price tag of $2,800 for its 256GB base model while the highest-tier model, which offers 1TB of storage, is priced at approximately $3,371. The device is currently only available in China for now.
Local pricing has yet to be revealed.
IOL
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