Huawei launches new foldable smartphone as Xiaomi, Apple unveil products

WEB DESK: Huawei launched its new flagship foldable smartphone series on Monday as it seeks to maintain its lead in China’s premium handset market amid competition from Apple and Xiaomi, which are also unveiling new products.

The new Mate XT2 series features smartphones that fold twice to expand into a tablet-sized screen. The devices are powered by Huawei’s new Kirin 9050 Pro chip.

But they are not cheap. Prices start from $2,980 with the most expensive version costing $3,725. Sales will start on September 12.

“Pricing right now is a real challenge, because memory costs have risen sharply. We adopted a lot of new technology, and the cost pressure has been enormous,” Huawei Executive Director Richard Yu told a press conference.

Huawei says the new chip’s design allows it to deliver more computing power while using less electricity. The design architecture, called LogicFolding, is part of the “Tau Scaling Law” principle Huawei unveiled in May to help the company overcome US restrictions on access to advanced technology.

Xiaomi launches a rival foldable phone later on Monday, while Apple unveils its latest iPhone series on Wednesday, with expectations high that it too will be unveiling a foldable phone.

Huawei is currently the only major brand to sell a so-called tri-fold phone. The Chinese tech giant is, however, barred from selling in the US as Washington has deemed the company a national security risk.

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, currently the world’s biggest seller of foldable phones, launched a tri-fold in December but reportedly discontinued sales after three months. It expanded its line-up of foldable offerings in July to include a passport-sized foldable phone.

Huawei’s Mate XT2 phones feature a redesigned folding mechanism, improved water resistance as well as a screen feature that prevents people nearby from seeing what is displayed. They also have upgraded cameras and deliver 42 per cent better overall performance than their predecessor series based on company tests.

Shares in Xiaomi sank 3 per cent in afternoon trade after Huawei unveiled the new series.

Huawei leads China’s smartphone market with a 22.6 per cent share in the second quarter, ahead of Apple’s 18.1 per cent, according to consultancy IDC. Xiaomi has 12.4 per cent of the market.

Huawei is even more dominant in folding phones, accounting for 68 per cent of shipments in China in the second quarter, according to Smart Analytics Global, a US-based research company.