Huawei Technologies introduced its latest innovation, the Mate XT—a three-way foldable smartphone—on Tuesday. This announcement comes on the heels of Apple’s new iPhone release, as Huawei aims to strengthen its foothold in the world’s largest smartphone market with a cutting-edge device that has captured significant attention in China.
The Mate XT, which was showcased on Huawei’s flagship e-commerce platforms in mainland China a day prior to the official launch, has already amassed over 3.3 million pre-orders, according to Huawei’s website. Notably, these pre-orders do not require a deposit.
In contrast, the global market for foldable phones was approximately 4 million units in the second quarter, as reported by research firm IDC. Huawei’s new release highlights its continued resilience despite ongoing U.S. sanctions and further cements its competitive stance against Apple within China.
Huawei, which has previously introduced two-way foldable phones, saw substantial success in this segment, enabling it to surpass Samsung Electronics this year as the leading global vendor of foldable devices. However, analysts suggest that the Mate XT’s high price and limited availability may make it more of a showcase of Huawei’s technological capabilities rather than a significant sales driver.
Jene Park, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, noted, “The upcoming Huawei products are not expected to significantly impact Samsung and Apple’s businesses in terms of product quantity. There is a limit to the quantity of products supplied. However, there may be some impact on sales in certain Chinese markets.”
The foldable smartphone market expanded by 57% year-on-year in the second quarter, with 3.9 million units shipped. This growth has been driven largely by Chinese smartphone manufacturers entering international markets, according to IDC. Despite this, foldable phones still account for only 1.3% of the total smartphone market, which saw 292.2 million units shipped in the same period.
Will Wong, a senior researcher at IDC, highlighted that many consumers remain unfamiliar with foldable phones and their benefits. High prices also present a barrier; while the Mate XT’s price is yet to be announced, last year’s Mate X5 costs over 10,000 yuan ($1,406) domestically, nearly double the price of the new iPhone 15.
Moreover, challenges such as screen wrinkles and reduced durability due to the additional hinges continue to affect the widespread adoption of foldable devices, according to Park.
Huawei secured the top position as the world’s largest foldable smartphone seller in the second quarter, holding a 27.5% market share, ahead of South Korea’s Samsung, which had a 16.4% share, as per IDC. In China, Huawei’s market share rises to 42%, leading competitors such as Vivo and Honor—a Huawei spinoff affected by U.S. sanctions in 2020.
In the broader Chinese smartphone market, Apple’s ranking fell from third to sixth place in the second quarter, while Huawei emerged as the third-largest vendor, buoyed by strong sales of its latest smartphones.
