Pre-orders for Huawei’s tri-fold smartphone cross 2 million ahead of iPhone 16 launch

Huawei is going head-to-head with Apple by timing the launch of its latest foldable with the anticipated reveal of the iPhone 16.

The tri-fold design of the Huawei Mate XT. (Image credit: Huawei Central)

Huawei has received over 2.7 million pre-orders for the Mate XT just days after unveiling the new foldable smartphone, according to its website. The Chinese smartphone manufacturer put up the tri-fold smartphone for pre-ordering on Saturday, September 7, ahead of Apple’s launch of the iPhone 16 series.

Though the price of the Mate XT has not yet been disclosed by Huawei, the device is expected to officially go on sale from September 20 onwards. The double-hinged smartphone reportedly opens up into a 10-inch screen. Users are expected to get a full look of the Mate XT on Tuesday, September 10, a day after the Apple launch event.

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Huawei holds the fourth largest market share of smartphones in China with over 10.6 million devices shipped so far, according to market research firm Canalys. Meanwhile, Apple failed to make it to the list of top five smartphone vendors in China for the second quarter of the year, with domestic manufacturers reportedly taking up all five spots.

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Apple is also yet to jump onto the folding and flip phones trend that is widely observed among its Chinese competitors.

Huawei has had its fair share of troubles in the past as US sanctions battered its global handset sales when they were imposed in 2019, along with restrictions limiting the Chinese tech giant’s access to semiconductors. However, the company responded by coming up with its own chip designs.