Huawei Mate XT Trifold Phone Racks Up 3 Million Preorders On Eve Of Apple Launch

Foldable phones have been available for a few years now, and despite various takes on the form factor, they all have one thing in common: folding in half. Huawei's new foldable changes the game, however, with an innovative trifold design. Buyers in China are apparently excited by the prospect. Pre-orders just opened over the weekend, and even with many details still unknown, more than 3 million people are in line to buy the device.

The Mate XT has two hinges that fold in opposite directions. This allows the device to fold up in a z-shape, making one-third of the full display into the "front" display when closed. The full foldable panel measures 10.1 inches diagonal with a resolution of 2780 x 3200, which is much larger than the 7 to 8-inch foldable screens on other large foldables. The upshot is this device only requires one display instead of separate cover and internal panels.

Huawei hasn't provided detailed specs or even pricing for the Mate XT, which will be the first tri-fold smartphone to launch. Huawei began taking pre-orders for the new foldable on Saturday afternoon, and just a few days later, Huawei appears to have racked up more than 3 million orders for the phone.

None of the prospective buyers are expecting this phone to be cheap—even book-style foldables with a single hinge are often priced close to $2,000. Still, reports suggest the Mate XT could cost as much as $2,400. If confirmed, that might prompt some buyers to cancel their reservations. In the meantime, the numbers on Huawei's Vmall site are still ticking upward. The device will ship on September 20. 


Huawei's early success with the Mate XT comes just as Apple is on the verge of unveiling the hotly anticipated iPhone 16. Apple will undoubtedly enjoy huge pre-order numbers, but it always does. Because of its market position, Apple is one of the few OEMs that can sell millions of units and still underperform. The fact that anyone is lining up for Huawei's new foldable is good news for the company, and it could use some.

Huawei was rising to global prominence a few years ago, expanding into the US market and forging carrier partnerships. Then it was hit with trade restrictions by the US government, which alleged Huawei was too cozy with the Chinese government. It has since pulled back to its traditional Asian and European markets and developed a forked version of Android without Google services as it continues to lose access to western technology. That means we in the US will probably never get the chance to buy this particular tri-folding phone. But if the design works, Samsung or OnePlus could release something similar stateside in the future.