Chinese tech giant Huawei has launched the Mate XT Ultimate Design smartphone, described as the “first-ever commercial triple foldable phone.” This innovative device can transform into a 10.2-inch tablet, offering users a flexible OLED touchscreen that is hinged in two directions.
Innovative Triple-Fold Technology
The Mate XT Ultimate Design features a 3,000-pixel screen, delivering what Huawei calls “cinema-level immersive viewing” with a screen ratio of 16:11. The device switches automatically between single, dual, and triple screen modes as the screen unfolds, with dual-screen mode offering roughly square proportions and the fully unfolded device functioning like a tablet.
Advanced Hinge System
To achieve the novel technical feat of a triple-fold screen, Huawei developed a hinge system that uses two tracks working in tandem to enable both inward and outward folds. The hinges incorporate 26 precision cams that facilitate smooth opening and closing, with components made from strengthened steel to ensure durability.
Slim and Durable Design
An integrated connecting rod and slide rail structure help to reduce the overall thickness of the hinge and therefore the phone itself, which measures 12.8 millimeters when folded and 3.6 millimeters at its thinnest point when fully unfolded. The screen’s composite laminated structure provides strength despite its thinness, with the inner fold resisting compression while the outer fold resists tension.
Versatile Applications
Huawei suggests various uses for the phone in its fully unfolded mode, including reading books and magazines with double-page spreads or using email and apps as one would on a tablet.
Advanced Camera and Premium Build
Other key features of the phone include its array of four cameras, including one with a ten-stop variable aperture telephoto lens that allows the user to control how much light enters the camera. The phone incorporates crafted elements including layered steel construction visible along the case edges and the octagonal camera surround. The back of the phone is wrapped in red or black leather inlaid with the Ultimate Design logotype in gold to match the finish of the metal components.
Market Timing and Industry Context
Huawei chose to launch the device just a few hours after US firm Apple presented the iPhone 16 lineup. Apple has yet to release a foldable phone, despite being granted a patent for such a design in 2016. Huawei unveiled its original Mate X smartphone at the 2019 Mobile World Congress, demonstrating many of the features present in the Mate XT version but with only one folding mechanism.
Several other brands unveiled folding phones that same year, including Microsoft and Motorola, which produced a revamped version of its Razr flip phone. Samsung was forced to delay the release of its Galaxy Fold smartphone after reports of screens breaking during use. The South Korean firm also launched a flip phone with a flexible glass display in 2020.
Release Details and Future Outlook
Huawei Technologies Co. was founded in 1987 and is now one of the world’s largest telecommunications firms, operating as a network carrier as well as a manufacturer of its own products and devices for other brands. The company has been faced with sanctions from countries including the United States, which sees it as a national security risk despite Huawei’s denials. The Mate XT smartphone will go on sale on 20 September but is expected to be available only in China.
Photos: Huawei
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