Huawei unveiled its latest flagship tri-fold smartphone series on Monday, doubling down on premium devices as it seeks to protect its lead in China’s competitive high-end handset market against Apple and Xiaomi.
The new Mate XT2 series features smartphones that fold twice and expand into tablet-sized displays, making Huawei the only major smartphone brand currently selling a tri-fold device in China. The phones are powered by Huawei’s new Kirin 9050 Pro chip and will go on sale on September 12.
Prices start at 19,999 yuan ($2,980) and rise to 24,999 yuan ($3,725) for the most expensive version, putting the device firmly in the ultra-premium segment and above many conventional flagship smartphones.
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“Pricing right now is a real challenge, because memory costs have risen sharply. We adopted a lot of new technology, and the cost pressure has been enormous,” Huawei Executive Director Richard Yu said at a press conference.
The high price is attributed to the rising costs of memory and other component. Huawei is betting that affluent Chinese consumers will continue to pay a substantial premium for a device that combines smartphone portability with a much larger tablet-style display.
Beyond the hardware itself, however, the Mate XT2 is also a showcase for Huawei’s effort to develop advanced semiconductor technology despite restrictions imposed by Washington.
Huawei said its new Kirin 9050 Pro chip is designed to deliver greater computing power while consuming less electricity. Its architecture, called LogicFolding, forms part of the “Tau Scaling Law” principle Huawei unveiled in May as part of its effort to overcome restrictions on access to advanced foreign technology.
That makes the Mate XT2 relevant beyond its potential sales. Every generation of Huawei’s premium smartphones provides the company with an opportunity to demonstrate how much performance it can extract from a domestic technology ecosystem despite U.S. restrictions on advanced chips and semiconductor equipment.
Huawei already dominates China’s foldable-phone segment.
The company accounted for 68% of foldable smartphone shipments in China during the second quarter, according to U.S.-based research firm Smart Analytics Global. Its position is even stronger than in the broader smartphone market, where Huawei held a 22.6% share in the second quarter, according to IDC.
Apple followed with 18.1%, while Xiaomi held 12.4%.
The figures explain why Huawei’s latest launch matters to competitors. The company is not merely introducing another premium smartphone; it is defending a substantial lead in a category that smartphone manufacturers see as a way to differentiate their high-end products as conventional handset designs become more mature.
Xiaomi launched a competing foldable phone later Monday, putting the two Chinese companies directly against each other in a premium segment where design, displays, cameras and processing power are becoming increasingly important.
Apple is also scheduled to unveil its latest iPhone lineup on Wednesday, with expectations that the company could introduce its own foldable smartphone.
If Apple enters the foldable market, Huawei could face its most significant challenge yet to its position at the high end of China’s smartphone industry. Apple’s brand strength and large installed base give it substantial pricing power, while Huawei has an advantage in the Chinese market because of its established domestic supply chain and strong consumer loyalty.
The market reaction to Huawei’s launch showed the competitive pressure. Xiaomi shares fell 3% in afternoon trading after Huawei unveiled the Mate XT2 series.
Huawei has also upgraded the Mate XT2’s physical design. The phones feature a redesigned folding mechanism and improved water resistance, addressing two of the long-standing weaknesses of foldable smartphones: mechanical durability and vulnerability to water or dust.
The devices also include a screen privacy feature designed to prevent people nearby from viewing what is displayed, along with upgraded cameras.
Huawei said the new series delivers 42% better overall performance than its predecessor, based on the company’s own tests.
The combination of improved durability, performance and privacy is important because foldable phones have historically required consumers to accept compromises in exchange for their distinctive form factor. A tri-fold design introduces additional engineering complexity compared with conventional smartphones or single-hinge foldables. More hinges and moving components can increase manufacturing costs and create additional points of failure, helping explain why Huawei’s most expensive model carries a price approaching $3,700.
Samsung Remains The Global Foldable Leader
Huawei’s dominance in China does not mean it leads the global foldable market. Samsung Electronics remains the world’s largest seller of foldable smartphones. The South Korean company launched a tri-fold device in December but reportedly discontinued sales after roughly three months.
Samsung expanded its foldable portfolio again in July with a passport-sized foldable handset, showing that manufacturers are continuing to experiment with new form factors as they search for ways to reignite demand in a mature smartphone market.
Huawei’s advantage is that it has been willing to push the tri-fold format more aggressively than its major competitors, particularly in China.
The company’s inability to sell smartphones in the United States remains a major constraint on its global ambitions. Washington has designated Huawei a national security risk and restricted the company from selling its products in the U.S., while successive technology controls have also complicated its access to advanced foreign semiconductors and manufacturing technologies.
That has made China’s enormous consumer market even more important to Huawei.
The Bigger Battle Is Over China’s Premium Consumer
The Mate XT2 launch comes at a critical point for China’s smartphone industry. Huawei’s resurgence has disrupted Apple’s position in the country’s premium market, while Xiaomi and other domestic manufacturers are investing heavily in high-end devices to capture consumers willing to spend more.
For Huawei, the tri-fold phone serves two purposes. Commercially, it provides a differentiated premium product capable of commanding prices well above conventional smartphones. Strategically, it demonstrates the company’s ability to continue developing high-end consumer technology despite its restricted access to parts of the global semiconductor ecosystem.
The launch also raises the stakes for Apple. If Apple introduces a foldable iPhone, it would bring the world’s most valuable smartphone brand directly into a category in which Huawei has already established a significant lead in China.
Market analysts believe Huawei still faces the challenge of converting technological differentiation into sustained premium-market growth without allowing the high cost of advanced components and foldable manufacturing to make its devices prohibitively expensive.
At 24,999 yuan, the top-end Mate XT2 is not competing primarily on affordability. Huawei is instead betting that its technology, form factor, and domestic brand strength are enough to persuade consumers to pay a premium — while sending a broader message that U.S. technology restrictions have not prevented the company from advancing at the top end of China’s smartphone market.