Huawei Unveils Mate XT, a Tri-Foldable Smartphone to Challenge Apple's iPhone 16

China's Huawei Technologies unveiled its latest innovation on Tuesday—a $2,800 tri-foldable smartphone called the Mate XT, aimed at reinforcing its dominance in the world's largest smartphone market. The device, which folds in three ways like an accordion, was introduced during a launch event in Shenzhen, shortly after Apple's new iPhone 16 debut.

The Mate XT has already garnered significant interest, with more than 4 million pre-orders, as noted on Huawei's website. This figure is remarkable given that the global market for foldable phones reached around 4 million units in the second quarter of 2024, according to research by IDC.

Richard Yu, Huawei's executive director, emphasized the company's perseverance in the development of the phone over the past five years. "We are turning science fiction into reality," Yu said, as he highlighted the device's ability to lead the next era of foldable technology.

The new Mate XT comes with advanced AI features, including text summarization, translation, and editing functions, as well as AI-powered image editing that can remove unwanted elements from photos. These features are powered by Huawei's proprietary Kylin chips.

The launch follows closely on the heels of Apple's unveiling of the iPhone 16, with both smartphones set to hit the market on September 20.

Source: David Kirton / Reuters