The amazing Huawei tri-fold phone finally arrives outside of China and generates excitement.
The world's first tri-fold phone will be launched outside of China. Despite its high cost, the Mate XT Ultimate offers new ways to use a foldable phone.
Huawei has unveiled its new device, the Mate XT Ultimate, in China, just a day after the launch of the iPhone 16 Pro. While Apple opted for incremental improvements in its new model, Huawei has innovated with a phone design that is already groundbreaking. Moreover, the company is expanding its market beyond China, having announced the world's first triple-foldable phone in Malaysia.
The Huawei Mate XT Ultimate features a 10.2-inch display (2232 x 3184 pixels) that folds into two other configurations: one of 7.9 inches (2048 x 2232 pixels) in a book style and another of 6.4 inches (1008 x 2232 pixels) like a conventional phone. Its three-screen mode adopts an aspect ratio of 16:11, providing a superior multimedia consumption experience compared to conventional foldable phones, which tend to have a squarer design that is not well-suited for watching videos.
Huawei's triple-foldable design incorporates two hinges and folds twice, once inward and once outward. While the inner fold shows a visible line, the outer one remains seamlessly exposed. After testing, it was noted that the hinges are robust enough to hold the phone in different positions without collapsing into a single-screen mode. Additionally, both sides of the foldable display are secured by magnets, ensuring they stay aligned with the back.
Although Huawei has not officially disclosed which chipset powers the Mate XT Ultimate, it is rumored to use the Kirin 9010 processor, manufactured with 7nm technology. The phone is equipped with 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. While not as powerful as flagship devices like the Galaxy S25 Ultra or the OnePlus 13, transitions between single, dual, and triple-screen modes are experienced smoothly during brief tests. However, the user interface appears somewhat outdated, as, unlike in China where HarmonyOS is available, the global variant runs on EMUI 14, which does not feature as modern a design.
Despite expectations for 2025, Huawei has not highlighted any notable artificial intelligence features in this device. The global version of the Mate XT Ultimate does not come with Google apps pre-installed, although there are alternative methods to download almost any Google app, including the Play Store.
In terms of photography, Huawei's new phone includes a triple-camera system, led by a 50MP main sensor with optical image stabilization (OIS). It also has a 12MP ultrawide camera and a 12MP periscope telephoto lens with 5.5x optical zoom and OIS. On the front, there is an 8MP selfie camera. The 5,600mAh battery is based on silicon-carbon technology and supports 66W wired charging, 50W wireless charging, and 7.5W reverse wireless charging. While the capacity is promising, it will be interesting to observe its performance with intensive use of the large screen.
The price of the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate is set at 19,999 yuan (approximately $2,800) in China, while in Europe it is priced at 3,499 euros, equivalent to about $3,660. Despite being expensive, initial impressions suggest that its usability is promising, allowing it to function as a full-size multimedia tablet in your pocket. This new format suggests that there may be more iterations in the future, as Samsung has also hinted at developing a triple-foldable phone at its Galaxy Unpacked event in January. As it is expected that Huawei will improve its interface in future updates, the Mate XT Ultimate stands out as a unique device in the market.