"Want a Large Screen That Fits in Your Pocket?" Foldable Phone Battle Heats Up

Huawei MateXT Pre-orders Surpass 6.3 Million
Honor, Xiaomi Also Prepare to Launch Triple-Fold Phones
Price and Durability Challenges... Fierce Competition for Thinner Bodies

Huawei 3-fold foldable smartphone 'Mate XT Ultimate Design' (Source= Huawei)

A smartphone priced at 4 million won has been released. It is the first-ever tripfold (triple+fold) phone that folds and folds again. This is the story of Huawei's recently launched ‘Mate XT Ultimate Design’ (hereafter Mate XT). Although it is equipped with a large display with a diagonal length of over 10 inches, its biggest strength is that it fits perfectly in a pocket when folded twice.

According to foreign media such as the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 19th (local time), pre-orders for Huawei's 3-fold foldable smartphone Mate XT have exceeded 6.3 million units. Huawei unveiled the Mate XT on the same day as Apple's iPhone 16 series announcement and set the release date to be the same, the 20th.

The official price of the Mate XT 256GB model is 19,999 yuan (approximately 3.8 million won). However, as inquiries for purchase flood in and demand is expected to exceed supply, resellers in China anticipate the price to soar up to about 70,000 yuan (13 million won). This contrasts with the sluggish pre-order demand for the iPhone 16 series, which does not have fully integrated artificial intelligence (AI) features.

When fully unfolded, the Mate XT has a diagonal length of 10.2 inches. Huawei advertises that it offers "cinema-level immersive viewing." The screen automatically switches every time it is unfolded, and when fully opened, it provides a user experience similar to that of a tablet PC. The thickness when folded is 12.8 mm, and the thinnest point when fully unfolded is 3.6 mm, highlighting the reduction in thickness. The Mate XT is expected to be sold only within Chinese territory.

According to market research firm IDC, global foldable phone shipments are expected to reach 25 million units this year, a 37.6% increase from last year (18.1 million units). IDC predicts that the foldable phone market will grow at an average annual rate of over 20%, reaching 45.7 million units shipped by 2028. If Apple joins the foldable phone competition, it could act as a catalyst for the market. However, IDC noted that "there are challenges to overcome, such as high prices and durability issues."

Foldable phones are expected to further expand their position in the smartphone market due to their combination of large, expansive screens and compact size. For the time being, 3-fold foldable smartphones are expected to be released continuously, mainly by Chinese companies. Honor is reportedly developing a tripfold phone thinner than Huawei's Mate XT, with a thickness of 10 mm when fully folded. Honor emphasized thin foldable phones and, in the second quarter, surpassed Samsung Electronics to take first place in market share in the Western European foldable phone market for the first time. Xiaomi recently filed patents related to the design and technology of 3-fold foldable smartphones. Competition to develop technology for thin yet durable bodies to enhance portability is expected to intensify.

Meanwhile, Motorola has released the Razr 50 series, which has a design similar to Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Z Flip6, and Google has launched the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Samsung plans to release the ‘Z Fold6 Slim,’ which reduces the thickness of the Z Fold6 model by about 2 mm, in the second half of this year. Apple has obtained patents related to foldable devices and technology, and there are reports that it plans to release a foldable device in 2026.