Huawei Mate XTs: Huawei launched the Mate XTs, its latest tri-fold smartphone and second commercially manufactured one in the world. It retails for 17,999 yuan, or about $2,500. The Mate XTs is less expensive to begin with compared to its original, but it also offers a performance boost, improved design, and new productivity features.
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Design and Display: Familiar but Smarter
The Mate XTs continues Huawei’s signature three-panel folding structure, expanding into a 10.2-inch tablet-like display. While the overall look remains similar, the hinge has been refined for smoother folding, and new color options like White and Hibiscus Purple add freshness. The tri-fold uses a BOE OLED LTPO panel with adaptive refresh up to 90Hz, a peak brightness of 1800 nits, and 1440Hz PWM dimming, ensuring sharp visuals and eye comfort during extended use.
Performance: Powered by Kirin 9020
Under the hood, the Mate XTs is equipped with the Kirin 9020 chipset, also seen in Huawei’s Pura 80 Pro+ and Ultra models. Huawei claims a 36% performance boost over the previous Mate XT. The device comes with 16GB RAM and up to 1TB of storage, ensuring smooth multitasking and future-proof capacity. Battery life is managed by a 5,600mAh cell with 66W wired and 50W wireless charging and supported by HarmonyOS 5.1 for hassle-free use.
Cameras: Power-packed Imaging with XMage
The Mate XTs builds on Huawei’s XMage imaging platform. It retains the 50MP primary sensor and 12MP periscope telephoto lens, but introduces a major change with a 40MP ultra-wide RYYB sensor for better low-light sensitivity. All three rear cameras now use RYYB pixel arrangement, improving color accuracy and night photography. Features like AI-assisted composition, ultra-clear panoramas, and personalized color cards have also been integrated from the Pura 80 series.
Productivity and Accessories: It’s More Than Just a Phone
Huawei is positioning the Mate XTs as more than just a foldable phone. As a phone that is also a productivity device with PC-class app support for apps like WPS Office and Wondershare Drawing, it’s something more. That experience is further enhanced by the M-Pen 3 stylus with handwriting-to-text, global annotating, and split-screen excerpting for fast multitasking. Business users will appreciate its presentation remote-control features, such as page-flipping and laser pointer modes.
Pricing and Availability: More, But Premium
At 17,999 yuan (~₹2,22,000), the Mate XTs is cheaper than the Mate XT’s original price of 19,999 yuan. Variants include 16GB+256GB, 16GB+512GB, and 16GB+1TB in four colors Purple, White, Red, and Black. The last generation sold over 500,000 units, showing China’s appetite for tri-folds. Huawei hopes to gain more market with this enhanced version.
Market Impact: A Head Start for Huawei
Huawei is now the only company mass-producing tri-folds, and that gives it a head start in the foldable segment, where it already has about 70% market share in China. Samsung and others are about to join tri-folds soon, but Huawei is proving that this form factor can be more than a technology fad. With its user interface, performance, and productivity features, the Mate XTs can set the tone for the future of foldables as working and entertainment devices.
