Huawei launches Mate XT, world's first tri-fold smartphone

Chinese smartphone maker Huawei on Tuesday unveiled the world's first triple-fold smartphone, called the Mate XT, which users can fold in three ways like an accordion screen door.

The product launch came hours after its U.S. competitor Apple revealed the iPhone 16 smartphone series. Both products will ship starting September 20.

The Huawei phone had received more than 3 million preorders by the time of publication, according to Huawei's website.

Yu Chengdong, an executive director at Huawei, stated that the Mate XT's screen measures 10.2 inches (25.908 centimeters), and the phone is 3.6 millimeters thick when unfolded, making it the largest and thinnest folding screen phone on the market. To achieve this design, the Mate XT features a high-capacity battery constructed with the thinnest silicon anode material available globally, achieving a remarkable 1.9-millimeter thickness for each cell.

What's more, the screen's aspect ratio is 16:11, which is close to that of a laptop screen, significantly reducing letterboxing when playing a standard 16:9 widescreen video compared to the almost-square screens seen on most mainstream foldable phones.

"In terms of software compatibility, Huawei is already the best in the folding phone market. The battery has seen considerable improvement in both capacity and size due to the use of silicon carbide anode, but attention must still be paid to power consumption and heat issues," said Guo Tianxiang, a research manager at IDC China.

The Mate XT offers a versatile design with single, dual and triple screen modes, allowing for flexible transitions between different forms. Yu noted that Huawei has dedicated five years to pioneering its innovative hinge mechanism, which revolutionizes traditional designs, enabling both inward and outward folding.

Despite these advancements, some technical flaws of folding phones still persist. CGTN learned from market analysts that creases on the screen cover remain unresolved, and a 10-inch screen could seriously affect battery life.

Additionally, with a starting price of 19,999 yuan (around $2,800), social media users are skeptical about the high cost of folding phones and the practical value of such a large screen.