Huawei Technologies unveiled its latest $2,800 tri-fold smartphone on Tuesday, aiming to strengthen its position in the world’s largest smartphone market and draw attention away from Apple, just hours after Apple's latest iPhone 16 launch. The Chinese technology company exhibited the latest Mate XT, a three-way foldable handset such as an accordion screen door, in the Shenzhen tech hub launch ceremony.
The smartphone has already received over 4 million pre-orders that required no deposit, as per the company’s website. According to research organization IDC, the entire global market for foldable phones, in the second quarter, was around 4 million units.
"Today we bring you a product that everyone can think of but could not make. Our team has been working hard for five years and has never given up," Richard Yu, Huawei executive director stated at the launch.
"Today we will once again rewrite the history of the industry, turn science fiction into reality, and lead a new era of folding devices."
AI functions are bolstered with in-house Kylin chips of Huawei, he added.
The new phone features an AI assistant alongside translation, text summary, and editing functions, along with AI-boosted image editing capabilities such as removing unwanted parts from the photos, Yu said.
The highly anticipated launch follows right hours after Apple introduced its latest lineup - the AI-supported iPhone 16, both smartphones are due to up on sale on 20th September.
The Mate XT is available in red and black colours and boasts a 10.2-inch display screen. The company claims that its 3.6mm width makes it the slimmest foldable phone in the world and also has a keyboard attached easy to fit in the pocket.
The 256-gigabyte model is priced at 19,999 yuan, with higher memory options available at 21,999 yuan and 23,999 yuan, as per Reuters.
The launch, following a string of successful smartphone releases, highlights Huawei's resilience in overcoming U.S. sanctions and strengthens its position over Apple in China, where consumers have criticized the iPhone 16 for lacking AI features.
Apple is still in search of an AI partner in China to enhance its iPhone 16 series, while its AI software, Apple Intelligence, will not be available in Chinese languages until next year.
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