In a bid to rain on Apple’s iPhone 16 launch parade held yesterday, Huawei launched the world’s first tri-fold smartphone – the Mate XT Ultimate – some hours earlier.
When fully folded, the Mate XT Ultimate resembles a standard smartphone. However, when unfolded, it transitions into a 7.9-inch two-screen mode or an expanded three-screen mode, providing the functionality and feel of a 10.2-inch tablet.
Weighing 298 grams, the device, when fully unfolded, is just 3.6mm thick, making it one of the slimmest smartphones available on the market.
The Mate XT’s camera setup includes a 50 MP primary sensor, a 12 MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 12 MP telephoto lens with 5.5x optical zoom capability. For selfies, it features an 8 MP front camera housed within a punch-hole cutout.
Despite being just 3.6mm thin, the device is equipped with a powerful 5600mAh silicon-carbon battery, recognized as the thinnest battery ever used in a smartphone. It also supports 66W fast wired charging and 50W wireless charging, ensuring all-day power.
The Mate XT Ultimate is available in Black or Red, featuring refined gold accents along the hinges, edges, and camera. Pricing starts at CNY 19,999 (around $2,800/€2,550) for the 256 GB model, CNY 21,999 (approximately $3,100/€2,800) for the 512 GB variant, and CNY 23,999 (about $3,400/€3,100) for the 1 TB version. Though it is highly unlikely this unit would be sold outside China.
With this reveal, Huawei is solidly ahead of the others in the foldables market. According to a second-quarter report by IDC, Huawei has overtaken Samsung as the top smartphone manufacturer worldwide. Huawei’s market share stands at 27.5%, while Samsung’s has declined to 16.4%.
The future of foldable phones looks bright, as the market is poised to reach 25 million units by the end of 2024, a 37.6% increase from last year.
