Huawei on Monday unveiled the Mate XT2, its second-generation tri-fold smartphone, just two days before Apple is expected to reveal its first foldable iPhone.
The phone starts at 19,999 yuan (approximately $2,800) for 256GB of storage and reaches 24,999 yuan for the 1TB version with a privacy screen. Sales begin Sept. 12, according to Huawei.
Unlike the original Mate XT’s partly outward-folding design, which left a section of its display exposed, the Mate XT2 folds inward to protect the main screen when the phone is closed. When fully opened, it offers a tablet-sized screen, while Huawei has also added a cover display for everyday use.
Huawei says the device has IP58 and IP59 dust and water resistance, a redesigned hinge and a new privacy display intended to prevent people nearby from viewing sensitive information.
The Mate XT2 is the first Huawei smartphone to use the Kirin 9050 Pro, a processor built around the company’s LogicFolding technology. Huawei describes the chip’s core components as free from technologies restricted by the United States.
The chip includes Huawei-designed Linxi Core CPU, Maleoon GPU and Da Vinci NPU components, along with the company’s Balong modem. Huawei says overall device performance is 42% higher than the previous generation.
At the launch, Richard Yu, chairman of Huawei’s consumer business group, said, “We not only have strong CPUs and GPUs, we also have very strong NPU technologies that can support AI computing on the device,” according to Nikkei Asia.
The company says the chip can run large AI models directly on the phone, while its thermal architecture spreads heat across the device’s three sections.
Why the launch matters
Huawei has faced U.S. technology restrictions since 2019, with tighter chip controls imposed in 2020, making the Mate XT2 more than a premium handset. It is also a public test of how far China’s semiconductor industry can advance under those restrictions.
Huawei says its LogicFolding approach is part of its broader Tau Scaling Law effort to address manufacturing limitations. Independent testing will be important in determining how competitive the new chip really is against processors from Apple, Qualcomm, Samsung and Google.
Huawei’s performance claims are based largely on its own testing, while the phone’s nearly $3,000 starting price also limits its potential audience.
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The premium price has a purpose
The Mate XT2 is arriving as smartphone makers face rising memory and component costs. That makes a nearly $3,000 starting price a significant limitation, particularly for a form factor that already requires more complex hinges, displays and thermal management.
Yet Huawei appears to be deliberately targeting wealthy consumers rather than the mass market. Nikkei Asia reported that Huawei’s smartphone shipments rose 25% year over year in the April-June quarter, while several Chinese rivals declined.
That makes the Mate XT2 less about selling millions of phones and more about proving Huawei can still compete at the technological high end despite years of U.S. restrictions.
Huawei faces Apple next
The timing puts the Mate XT2 in the spotlight just before Apple’s expected product event. If Apple unveils its first foldable iPhone as reported, it would bring the company’s premium smartphone business into more direct competition with Huawei’s established foldable lineup in China.
Huawei accounted for 68% of China’s foldable-phone shipments in the second quarter, according to Smart Analytics Global, while IDC put its overall Chinese smartphone share at 22.6%. Apple’s entry could challenge that position, although Nikkei Asia reported that early production was limited to a few hundred units per day as suppliers worked to meet the company’s quality requirements.
For prospective buyers, the decisive questions will be whether the Mate XT2’s durability and performance justify its nearly $3,000 price—and how it compares with Apple’s reported foldable once independent testing and confirmed specifications become available.
Read more: Huawei’s return to the top of China’s smartphone market provides more context for the company’s renewed challenge to Apple in the premium-device segment.