Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design Launched: World’s First Tri-Fold Phone

Huawei has announced the Mate XT Ultimate Design at an event in Beijing, China. This is the world’s first tri-fold smartphone. Unlike every other foldable-screen device available today which has only one hinge and a separate outer screen, the Mate XT has two hinges, and just one screen, of which a 6.4-inch portion is visible when the device is folded. It can open up into a 7.9-inch or a 10.2-inch panel when either two or all three segments are opened up. 

The Mate XT is priced starting at CNY 19,999 (approximately ₹2,35,738 before taxes) with 256GB of storage. There’s also a 512GB version, and the top-spec 1TB variant costs CNY 23,999 (approximately ₹2,82,890 before taxes). Pre-bookings are now open, and the device will officially go on sale on September 20. In what is not likely a coincidence, Apple’s just-announced iPhone 16 series also goes on sale in many countries on that day.

Huawei’s official Chinese online store lists the Mate XT in black as well as a deep red colour called “Ruihong” which is roughly translated to “prosperity”. Both have gold frames, hinges, camera island surrounds, and branding.   

All three variants have 16GB of RAM. The flexible OLED display is rated to show 1.07 billion colours, with full DCI-P3 colour gamut reproduction. Its resolution when fully flattened is 2232x3184 pixels. There’s a fingerprint sensor on the side and an infrared emitter for remote controlling appliances.

The total battery capacity is 5600mAh, split across three packs. Wired charging speed goes up to 66W and wireless charging can work at up to 50W if using Huawei’s own proprietary accessories. There’s also 7.5W reverse wireless charging. 

Buyers will get a 50-megapixel main camera with optical image stabilisation and is listed with a variable aperture of f/1.4-4.0. There’s also a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera and a 12-megapixel 5.5X telephoto camera. The sole selfie camera has an 8-megapixel resolution. 

The Mate XT runs Huawei’s HarmonyOS 4.2. Listed software features include multi-screen wallpaper, AI photo editing, split-screen summary, voice input, translation, satellite calling, split-screen, smart multi-window, smart payment, AI subtitles, cross-device clipboard, multi-screen collaboration, and super privacy mode. Several of these appear to address optimising the massive tablet-sized screen for mutlitasking, while others sound like the AI-enhanced features that many manufacturers are promoting today.

The unit has two nano-SIM slots. It measures 12.8mm thick when fully folded and 4.75mm when flattened. Its weight comes in at 298g. Huawei promises that this phone’s steel hinges are durable and smooth. A protective layer is affixed to the screen, and the company also warns users not to try sticking any other film on, to avoid damaging it. All specifications have been machine-translated from Chinese.