Huawei has officially named its upcoming tri-fold smartphone the Huawei Mate XT.
The name, which follows the convention of Huawei’s Mate X foldable series, was confirmed in a new teaser video shared to Weibo by the Chinese manufacturer (via GSMArena).
The teaser also links the upcoming phone to Huawei’s Ultimate Design brand, a continuation of its previous Porsche Design collaboration, which currently offers a luxury smartwatch.
This association with Ultimate Design could be Huawei preparing consumers for a high price tag – the Mate XT’s predecessor, the Mate X3, retails for the equivalent of around $1,825 / £1,390 / AU$2,700 in China, and a new, more advanced product is likely to be even more expensive.
At the time of writing, Huawei devices can’t be sold in the US due to an ongoing ban, and the company doesn’t sell phones in the UK despite offering tablets, laptops, and other accessories.
We can reasonably speculate that the XT stands for X Triple or X Tri-Fold, suggesting Huawei has accepted the “tri-fold” naming convention – this in spite of the fact that the Mate XT actually folds twice, not three times.
A proper rollout
The new teaser follows the announcement of Huawei’s upcoming “grand ceremony”, a product event in the vein of Apple’s annual iPhone launches.
GSMArena shared that Huawei has scheduled its launch for September 10, just one day after the much-anticipated Apple event on September 9.
Huawei is likely looking to avoid a clash with Apple’s event, which will almost certainly play host to the reveals of the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max, and draw immense interest as a result.
Announcing a world-first product right after an incremental annual iPhone update could be a bid on Huawei’s part to steal some of Apple’s thunder.
This event announcement, coupled with the new Mate XT teaser, has brought an air of officiality to the tri-fold’s rollout, which was previously led by leaked images and off-the-cuff remarks. Only recently, Huawei Consumer Business Group CEO Yu Chengdong (also known as Richard Yu) seemingly confirmed a September release date for the Mate XT in a comment made at the launch of Huawei’s STELATO S9 electric car.
A genuine world-first
Rumors of a tri-fold device making it to market have circulated all year, with suggestions that Samsung, Honor, and indeed Huawei have been working to produce the first phone of this kind.
Additionally, concept devices from Tecno Mobile and a suspicious-looking OPPO render have added to the speculation, as has a working prototype displayed by TCL CSOT.
Although a global release for the Mate XT is unlikely, it’s always exciting to see a genuinely new product reach consumers.
For the latest foldable phone updates, be sure to check out TechRadar’s phones coverage, as well as our guide to the best foldable phones of 2024.
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jamie.richards@futurenet.com (Jamie Richards)
