Huawei has just launched the Mate XTs, the world’s second mass-produced tri-fold phone. Following last year’s Mate XT, the new model upgrades performance with the Kirin 9020 processor and lowers the starting price by 2,000 yuan, coming in at 17,999 yuan (around $2,500).
It’s still expensive, but this time it feels less like a proof of concept and more like a refined device overall.
A familiar design with smarter details
The Mate XTs doesn’t radically change its look. Huawei has kept the same three-panel folding structure, which unfolds into a 10.2-inch tablet-sized display. It does come in new color options like White and Hibiscus Purple.
Most of the refinements are under the hood. Huawei has tweaked the hinge for a better folding experience and it is the first time in years that Huawei openly mentioned its chip at the launch event for the first time in four years.
The tri-fold is powered by the Kirin 9020 chip, the same SoC as the Pura 80 Pro+ and Pura 80 Ultra. Huawei claims a 36% performance improvement from its predecessor, and it is paired with 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage.
The Mate XTs also benefit from Huawei’s own XMage imaging platform. The setup retains the 50MP main and 12MP periscope camera, but there are upgrades where they count. The wide-angle camera jumps from 13 megapixels to a 40-megapixel RYYB sensor, and all three cameras now use Huawei’s RYYB pixel arrangement, which means better sensitivity and improved low-light performance.
Huawei has also brought in features from its Pura 80 series, including ultra-clear panoramas, personalized color cards, AI-assisted composition, and enhanced color science.
More than a phone, less than a PC
The Mate XTs is also trying hard to be more than just a foldable phone with a big screen. Thanks to Huawei’s HarmonyOS ecosystem, it now supports PC-level productivity apps like WPS Office, Wondershare Drawing, and Wind Financial Terminal, alongside advanced multitasking with flexible multi-window layouts.
Huawei is also leaning heavily on accessories. The new M-Pen 3 stylus turns the tri-fold display into a productivity canvas. It supports global annotation, handwriting-to-text conversion, and a clever “split-screen excerpting” feature that lets you drag snippets of text between apps without clunky copy-paste. For business users, the stylus doubles as a remote control for presentations, complete with page-flipping and laser pointer functions.
Pricing and Availability
At 17,999 yuan, the Mate XTs is still far from cheap. But compared to its predecessor’s 19,999 yuan price tag, the cut is meaningful. It shows Huawei wants to push the tri-fold beyond early adopters and into a wider market.
Here’s the full price breakdown:
- 16GB+256GB: 17,999 CNY (~Rs 2,22,120 | ~$2,520)
- 16GB+512GB: 19,999 CNY (~Rs 2,46,800 | ~$2,810)
- 16GB+1TB: 21,999 CNY (~Rs 2,71,480 | ~$3,090)
- Colors: Purple | White | Red | Black
The first Mate XT sold over 500,000 units, so there’s clearly demand for such a product. And Huawei seems to be addressing the demand with a more refined foldable inside and outside.
Huawei Mate XTs Specifications
| Feature | Details |
| Single Screen | 6.4-inch, 2232 × 1008 pixels, 156.7 × 73.5 × 12.8mm |
| Dual Screen (unfolded once) | 7.9-inch, 2232 × 2048 pixels, 156.7 × 143 × 7.45mm / 4.75mm |
| Triple Screen (fully unfolded) | 10.2-inch, 2232 × 3184 pixels, 156.7 × 219 × 3.6mm / 3.6mm / 4.75mm |
| Display Tech | BOE OLED LTPO panel, 1–90Hz adaptive refresh rate, 1–1800 nits peak brightness, 1440Hz PWM dimming, 240Hz touch sampling rate |
| Processor | Kirin 9020 with 8th-gen ISP |
| Memory & Storage | 16GB RAM + 256GB / 512GB / 1TB storage options |
| Battery | 5,600mAh |
| Charging | 66W wired, 50W wireless, 7.5W reverse wireless |
| OS | HarmonyOS 5.1 |
| Front Camera | 8MP |
| Rear Cameras | 50MP main (variable aperture f/1.4–f/4.0, OIS) + 12MP ultra-wide (f/2.2) + 12MP periscope telephoto (OIS, 5.5x optical zoom, 50x digital zoom) + multi-spectral channel camera |
| Biometrics | Side fingerprint sensor |
| Connectivity | Dual SIM, Wi-Fi 6, NFC, Bluetooth 5.2, UWB, IR blaster, satellite communication, USB-C (3.1 Gen1) |
| Stylus Support | M-Pen 3 |
| Weight | 298 grams |
What it means for foldables
For now, Huawei is the only company mass-producing tri-folds. Samsung and others have teased prototypes, but none are on shelves. That gives Huawei a massive head start, particularly in China, where it already dominates the foldable market with around 70 percent share.
But competition is coming. Samsung’s own tri-fold is rumored to be near launch, and other brands won’t be far behind. Huawei needs to keep proving that the tri-fold format isn’t just about showing off engineering skills; it’s about creating real value in productivity, creativity, and daily use.
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