Huawei steals spotlight from Apple with launch of tri-fold smartphone

Chinese tech giant Huawei has launched Huawei Mate XT, the world’s first triple-folding phone, hours after its US competitor lifted the curtain on its own new handset built for AI.

The Chinese tech giant showed off its new Mate XT, which users can fold three ways like an accordion screen door

Originally designed as a premium phone for a niche audience, more than three million people registered interest in buying the Mate XT ahead of its launch.

The gadget officially goes on sale on September 20, with prices beginning at an eye-watering $2,800 — over three times more than the new iPhone 16.

“This is the world’s first triple-folding phone,” Yu said at the keynote.

“We have put in a huge amount of effort into solving the problems regarding mass production and product reliability,” he added.

Huawei Mate XT’s release comes a day after Apple announced its iPhone 16, built for generative artificial intelligence as it seeks to boost sales and keep up in the technology race.

US technology giant Apple has introduced the latest edition of its flagship smartphone the iPhone 16.

Unveiled at an event in California, the iPhone 16 has been introduced in some new colours compared to the previous model.

The updated dual camera on the back of the phone is once again arranged vertically. This configuration was last seen in the iPhone 12 introduced in 2020.

The iPhone 16 brings a number of new hardware changes, including a new A18 chip with a 3-nanometer processor (which is 30 per cent faster than the iPhone 15’s CPU), an action button (which was introduced in last year’s Pro model) and a new physical camera control button below the power button.