SHENZHEN, September 7 — Huawei and Xiaomi both launched new flagship foldable smartphones on Monday, intensifying competition in China’s premium handset market just days before Apple’s own product launch. Huawei introduced the Mate XT2 series, a tri-fold device that folds out twice into a tablet-sized screen. The company says it features the Kirin 9050 Pro chip, a redesigned hinge, improved water resistance, and a privacy screen that prevents nearby people from viewing the display.
Sales begin on September 12.
Price pressure and a new chip architecture
The devices are priced from 19,999 yuan (about US$2,980), with the top-end version costing 24,999 yuan (about US$3,725). At a press conference, Huawei Executive Director Richard Yu was blunt about the cost challenge. “Pricing right now is a real challenge, because memory costs have risen sharply,” he said.
“We adopted a lot of new technology, and the cost pressure has been enormous.” Huawei said the new chip design delivers greater computing power while using less electricity. The architecture, called LogicFolding, is part of the “Tau Scaling Law” principle unveiled in May as Huawei seeks to overcome U.S. restrictions on access to advanced technology.
Xiaomi’s counter-punch
At a separate launch event, Xiaomi unveiled its most premium phone to date, the Xiaomi 18 Fold. The device uses what Xiaomi calls a “medium-fold solution,” remaining passport-sized when closed while supporting three apps side by side when opened. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said the device had several advantages over Apple products.
Weighing 219 grams and measuring 5.02 mm thick when unfolded, the phone is lighter than Apple’s iPhone Pro Max, he said. The handset runs Xiaomi’s in-house XRing O3 AI processor, which Lei said outperforms Apple’s A19 Pro in responsiveness.
It also uses DRAM memory chips supplied by Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT. The Xiaomi 18 Fold is priced from 10,999 yuan (about US$1,540) to 14,999 yuan (about US$2,100). “Nowadays, memory is very, very expensive,” Lei said.
“We don’t say it is cheap, but it is value for money.”
Market position and what comes next
The launches come ahead of Apple’s unveiling of its latest iPhone series on Wednesday, with expectations high that it could also introduce a foldable phone. Huawei is currently the only major brand selling a so-called tri-fold phone. The Chinese tech giant is barred from selling products in the U.S., where Washington has deemed it a national security risk.
Huawei led China’s smartphone market with a 22.6% share in the second quarter, ahead of Apple’s 18.1%, according to consultancy IDC. Xiaomi held a 12.4% share.
Huawei was even more dominant in folding phones, accounting for 68% of shipments in China in the second quarter, according to U.S.-based research company Smart Analytics Global. What to watch next is whether Apple’s Wednesday event answers with a foldable of its own — and whether the memory-cost squeeze Yu and Lei both flagged starts to reshape pricing across the category.
