Technology and Science · 07 September, 2026 · 3 min read
Huawei Rolls Out Mate XT 2 Trifold Smartphone In China Ahead Of Apple Foldable iPhone
Huawei launched Mate XT 2 in China, a high-end tri-fold foldable priced near $3,000. It uses chips free from U.S. supply restrictions, per Nikkei Asia.
Whether the foldable iPhone will include Face ID or use Touch ID.
10 of 12 outlets skipped it: huawei and Xiaomi launch foldables just before Apple’s event.
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NDTV
“Reports suggest the foldable could measure around 4.5 mm thick when fully open, leaving limited room for the TrueDepth components required for Apple's facial-recognition system.”
Translated from the original.
Read the original ↗Macworld
“the iPhone Ultra may ditch both Face ID and a telephoto camera, using Touch ID in the side button instead.”Read the original ↗
It signals a major usability and security trade-off to fit the thin design.
Huawei’s trifold arrives
Huawei is rolling out the third iteration of its trifold smartphone, the Huawei Mate XT 2, in China ahead of Apple’s rumored first foldable iPhone.
“Huawei describes the design of the Mate XT 2’s folds as “wing-like.””
Gizmodo says the Mate XT 2 uses chips that are free from U.S. supply restrictions and that Huawei describes the design of the Mate XT 2’s folds as “wing-like.”
The phone’s fold mechanism differs from Huawei’s previous trifolds, with the Mate XT 2 folding both halves of its 10.1-inch interior display inward when you want to use its 6.5-inch exterior screen.
Gizmodo adds that the Mate XT 2 starts at around $2,980 (¥19,999) for 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and that a model with 1TB of storage and the private display runs about $3,725 (¥24,999).
In the same report, Huawei’s Kirin 9050 Pro chipset is described as the first designed entirely in-house by Huawei, and it notes that U.S. sanctions bar chipmakers that use American software from working with the company.
Apple’s September 9 test
Apple is expected to unveil its first foldable iPhone on September 9 alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, with the event framed as “Surprise and shine.”
The New York Post says the launch is expected to be “about the size of a passport when fully folded,” and it ties the moment to John Ternus taking over from Tim Cook last Tuesday.
Macworld reports that Apple is expected to unveil its first foldable iPhone on September 9 alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, while also warning that reports suggest supplies could be limited.M
Macworld also says the new model could be called the iPhone Ultra and adopt a book-style design that opens into something resembling a small iPad.M
In parallel, NDTV notes that the foldable has been referred to as the iPhone Fold and iPhone Ultra in several reports and leaks, and it says Apple has yet to officially confirm its existence, name, specifications, or price.N
Pricing and feature tradeoffs
As Apple prepares its September 9 lineup, multiple reports point to a premium price for the foldable, with the Straits Times saying Ternus is set to unveil products including the highly anticipated foldable iPhone and hoping to sell customers on “a price tag above US$2,000.”
“a foldable screen and a price tag above US$2,000 (S$2,500).”
NDTV says one of the biggest changes could be the removal of Face ID, and it reports that the foldable could measure around 4.5 mm thick when fully open, leaving limited room for the TrueDepth components required for Apple’s facial-recognition system.N
NDTV also says Gurman suggests the foldable may feature only two rear cameras: a 48-megapixel wide sensor and a 48-megapixel ultrawide sensor, and it adds that this would mean no dedicated telephoto lens.N
For Huawei’s side of the competition, Gizmodo highlights that the Mate XT 2 camera stack includes a 50-megapixel main camera, a 40-megapixel ultra-wide, and a 50-megapixel periscope camera offering up to 3.5x optical zoom.
Meanwhile, LaRepublica.co says Apple will present the 9 de septiembre a new generation of devices led by John Ternus as CEO, and it frames the foldable as the first iPhone plegable with a design similar to a pasaporte.