It’s a first. Chinese telecom giant Huawei unveiled the world’s first tri-fold mobile phone on Tuesday, hours after U.S. rival Apple announced a new line of iPhones powered by its generative artificial intelligence system.
Huawei’s new model, dubbed Mate XT, was unveiled by company executive Richard Yu during an online conference held by the group from its headquarters in Shenzhen, southern China, and will go on sale on September 20.
Although the phone, with its red and gold design, is aimed more at a premium clientele, more than three million people have pre-registered to be alerted of its availability.
“Huawei has always been a leader in the foldable phone sector,” Richard Yu said during his presentation. And this new model, which will start at 19,999 yuan (more than 2,500 euros) “is the world’s first foldable in three.” “We have made enormous efforts to solve the problem of mass production and product reliability,” Richard Yu also assured.
This announcement comes the day after Apple presented its new range of iPhones, the first smartphones equipped with Apple Intelligence, its new generative artificial intelligence (AI) system, the star technology of Silicon Valley in which the Californian group has fallen behind.
Huawei has been at the center of an intense technological rivalry between China and the United States for several years, which accuses, without providing evidence, the company of being able to spy for the Chinese authorities. Huawei categorically denies these allegations, but since 2019 sanctions from Washington have cut the company off from global supply chains for American technologies and components.
