KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Huawei on Tuesday held a worldwide launch for the trade’s first tri-foldable cellphone, which analysts stated marked a symbolic victory for the Chinese language tech large amid U.S. expertise curbs. However challenges over pricing, longevity, provide and app constraints could restrict its success.
Huawei stated at a launch occasion in Kuala Lumpur that the Huawei Mate XT, first unveiled in China 5 months in the past, will likely be priced at 3,499 euros ($3,662). Though dubbed a trifold, the cellphone has three mini-panels and folds solely twice. The corporate says it is the thinnest foldable cellphone at 3.6 millimeters (0.14 inches), with a ten.2-inch display just like an Apple iPad.
“Proper now, Huawei type of stands alone as an innovator” with the trifold design, stated Bryan Ma, vp of system analysis with the market intelligence agency Worldwide Information Company.
Huawei reached the place regardless of “not having access to chips, to Google companies. All these items mainly have been enormous roadblocks in entrance of Huawei,” Ma stated, including that the “resurgence we’re seeing from them over the previous yr has been fairly a little bit of a victory.”
Huawei, China’s first international tech model, is on the heart of a U.S.-China battle over commerce and expertise. Washington in 2019 severed Huawei’s entry to U.S. parts and expertise, together with Google’s music and different smartphone companies, making Huawei’s cellphone much less interesting to customers. It has additionally barred international distributors from utilizing U.S. expertise to provide parts for Huawei.
American officers say Huawei is a safety threat, which the corporate denies. China’s authorities has accused Washington of misusing safety warnings to comprise a rising competitor to U.S. expertise firms.
Huawei launched the Mate XT in China on Sept. 20 final yr, the identical day Apple launched its iPhone 16 collection in international markets. However with its steep price ticket, the Mate XT “will not be a mainstream product that individuals are going to leap for,” Ma stated.
On the Kuala Lumpur occasion, Huawei additionally unveiled its MatePad Professional pill and Free Arc, its first open-ear earbuds with ear hooks and different wearable gadgets.
Whereas Huawei’s cutting-edge gadgets showcase its technological prowess, its long-term success stays unsure given ongoing challenges over international provide chain constraints, chip availability and limitations on the software program ecosystem, stated Ruby Lu, an analyst with the analysis agency TrendForce.
“System limitations, significantly the dearth of Google Cellular Providers, means its worldwide market potential stays constrained,” Lu stated.
IDC’s Ma stated Huawei dominated the foldable cellphone market in China with 49% market share final yr. Within the international market, it had 23% market share, trailing behind Samsung’s 33% share in 2024, he stated. IDC predicted that whole foldable cellphone shipments worldwide may surge to 45.7 million items by 2028, from over 20 million final yr.
Whereas most main manufacturers have entered the foldable segments, Lu stated Apple has but to launch a competing product.
“As soon as Apple enters the market, it’s anticipated to considerably affect and stimulate additional progress within the foldable cellphone sector,” Lu added.
