Huawei’s Mate XT2 tri-fold phone goes on sale Friday

Huawei unveiled the Mate XT2 Ultimate Design on September 7, its second-generation tri-fold smartphone powered by the new Kirin 9050 Pro processor — the company's first new Kirin chip introduced at a flagship product launch in six years. The device goes on sale September 12 in China, priced from 19,999 yuan (about $2,980), landing just days before Apple's ↗ 1.75% iPhone Duo and alongside Xiaomi's 18 Fold in what has become the most competitive week the foldable phone category has ever seen.cnbc+2

A Chip Designed Around Restrictions

The Kirin 9050 Pro sits at the center of Huawei's latest push for technological self-reliance under ongoing U.S. semiconductor export controls. Rather than relying on conventional geometric scaling tied to advanced manufacturing equipment, the chip uses a two-layer vertical stacking architecture that Huawei calls its "Tao Law" technology framework, adding vertical interconnects to shorten signal transmission paths. The result, according to Huawei, is a transistor density increase from 155 to 238 million transistors per square millimeter, with peak single-core performance up 24% and multi-core performance up 52% over the previous generation.technode

Overall device performance has improved 42% compared to the original Mate XT, Huawei said at the launch event. Executive Richard Yu acknowledged that memory costs made pricing difficult this year, though Huawei held the starting price flat compared to the original Mate XT, which launched in late 2024.techadvisor+2

Hardware and Design

The Mate XT2 adopts a new "G-type" dual-inward-folding design, a departure from the original's Z-shaped fold. Fully unfolded, it offers a 10.2-inch 3K OLED inner display; folded, a 6.5-inch cover screen handles daily tasks. It weighs 299 grams and packs a 5,600mAh battery with 66W wired and 50W wireless charging. A privacy display feature, available on the top-tier model, uses directional pixel technology to obscure screen content from onlookers — a feature also found on Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra. The top-end 2TB collector's edition reaches 29,999 yuan.80+3

A Crowded Market Gets Tighter

The Mate XT2 arrives as Huawei commands a dominant position in China's foldable market. The company accounted for roughly 68% of foldable shipments in China in the second quarter, according to Smart Analytics Global, and has shipped more than one million tri-fold phones in total. Huawei also led China's overall smartphone market in both the first and second quarters, according to Counterpoint Research.marketingtrending.asoworld+1

But competition is intensifying. Xiaomi's 18 Fold, also launched September 7, starts at 10,999 yuan — roughly a third of the Mate XT2's price — and weighs just 219 grams. Apple's iPhone Duo, announced September 9 at 15,999 yuan in China, slots between the two on price and begins shipping October 23. According to Reuters, the simultaneous launches marked an escalation in China's premium handset market ahead of what had been expected to be Apple's moment. Counterpoint projects Samsung will hold 38% of the global foldable market in 2026, with Apple and Huawei at 25% and 24% respectively.cnbc+3