Chinese tech giant Huawei launched the industry’s first tri-foldable phone at an event in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, which analysts have called a symbolic victory amid ongoing frictions with the United States over technology.
However, challenges over pricing, longevity, supply, and app constraints may limit its success.
Huawei said at a launch event that the Huawei Mate XT, first unveiled in China five months ago, will be priced at €3,499.
Although dubbed a trifold, the phone has three mini-panels and folds only twice. The company says it’s the thinnest foldable phone at 3.6 mm (0.14 inches), with a 10.2-inch screen similar to an Apple iPad.
“Right now, Huawei kind of stands alone as an innovator” with the trifold design, said Bryan Ma, vice president of device research with the market intelligence firm International Data Corporation (IDC).
Huawei reached the position despite “not getting access to chips, to Google services. All these things basically have been huge roadblocks in front of Huawei,” Ma said, adding that the “resurgence we’re seeing from them over the past year has been quite a bit of a victory”.
US-China tensions over tech
Huawei, China’s first global tech brand, is at the centre of an ongoing US-China battle over trade and technology.
Washington in 2019 severed Huawei’s access to US components and technology, including Google’s music and other smartphone services, making Huawei’s phone less appealing to users.
It has also barred global vendors from using US technology to produce components for Huawei.
American officials say Huawei is a security risk, which the company denies. China’s government has accused Washington of misusing security warnings to contain a rising competitor to U.S. technology companies.
Source: Huawei launches the world’s first tri-foldable smartphone despite ongoing US-China friction
