Apple rival Huawei turns science fiction into reality with $2,800 triple smartphone launch

Chinese company Huawei Technologies unveiled a $2,800 foldable phone on Tuesday as it seeks to extend its lead in the world’s biggest smartphone market and steal the limelight from Apple hours after it debuted a new iPhone.

The Chinese tech giant showed off its new Mate XT, which users can fold three ways like an accordion screen door, during a launch event in Shenzhen’s southern tech hub.

The device has already received more than 4 million pre-orders, for which no deposit is required, according to the company’s website.

The entire global market for foldable phones was about 4 million units in the second quarter, according to research firm IDC.

“Today we bring you a product that everyone can think of but cannot do. Our team has worked hard for five years and never gave up,” said Huawei CEO Richard Yu 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 foldable devices.”

The new phone boasts an AI assistant with text summarization, translation and editing functions, as well as AI-enhanced image editing functions such as trimming unwanted parts of photos, Yu said.

The AI ​​functions are supported by Huawei’s internal Kylin chips, he added.

The much-anticipated launch comes just hours after Apple unveiled its latest model – the AI-powered iPhone 16 – with both smartphones set to go on sale on September 20.

The Mate XT comes in red and black and has a 10.2-inch display.

At 3.6mm wide, the company said it was the world’s thinnest foldable phone and has a keyboard attachment that fits in your pocket.

Prices start at 19,999 yuan ($2,800) for 256 gigabytes, with higher-memory versions available for 21,999 yuan and 23,999 yuan.

Apple’s AI challenge

The launch, which follows a string of successful smartphone debuts, underscores Huawei’s ability to navigate US sanctions and strengthens its position against Apple in China, where some consumers criticized the new iPhone 16 for a lack of AI features in the country.

Apple has yet to announce an AI partner in China to power the 16, and Apple Intelligence, the company’s AI software, will only be available in Chinese languages ​​next year.

“What’s the point of buying it if you can’t use AI?” wrote one user on Weibo, China’s X-like platform. Another commented: “Without AI as the biggest selling point, it should be half the price.”

Apple shares closed down less than 1% on Tuesday.

While Apple for years enjoyed strong demand in China, where new iPhone launches once sparked a frenzy, its sales have dwindled and the company’s ranking in the world’s second-largest economy has now fallen from third to six.

Huawei returned to the high-end smartphone segment last year with the launch of a device powered by a domestically-made chip, defying US sanctions that have cut off its access to the global chip supply chain. The launch of the Mate 60 Pro surprised analysts and US officials.

Huawei already has two-way foldable phones in its lineup, and its strong sales in China helped it overtake Samsung Electronics this year as the biggest seller of such phones globally.

But with a price tag starting at $2,800 — more than double the starting price of the comparable iPhone 16 Pro Max — and limited production, the triple phone is likely to become more of a symbol of Huawei’s tech prowess than a the main driver of sales. , analysts said.

“Production constraints and a high price point mean the new phone likely won’t have a big impact in terms of shipments,” said Will Wong, senior researcher at consultancy IDC.

“But it’s telling consumers it’s still the technology leader, and the potential challenge it poses to Apple could be well beyond market share.”

The foldable smartphone market grew 57% year-on-year in the second quarter with 3.9 million units shipped, largely as Chinese smartphone makers pushed into overseas markets, according to IDC.

That remains just 1.3% of the broader smartphone market, with 292.2 million smartphones shipped in the second quarter, IDC said.

Huawei ranked as the world’s biggest vendor of foldable smartphones in the second quarter with 27.5% of the market, ahead of South Korea’s Samsung with 16.4%, according to IDC.

That share rises to 42% in China’s domestic market, ahead of Vivo and former Huawei unit Honor, which spun off under pressure from US sanctions in 2020.