Huawei racks up 3 million pre-orders for Mate XT tri-fold phone before Apple’s iPhone 16 reveal

Chinese tech giant Huawei has garnered more than 3 million pre-orders for its triple-folding smartphone, its website showed on Monday (Sep 9), which comes just hours before Apple’s debut of its new generation of iPhones.
Huawei’s Mate XT, a Z-shaped tri-fold phone is scheduled to be unveiled at a launch event on Tuesday, as announced on its social media account WeChat.
Pre-ordering customers will receive details on how to purchase the phone on Tuesday, the day of the launch event, rather than making a down payment.
This robust pre-order figure underscores Huawei’s ability to navigate US sanctions and solidifies its position as a key competitor to Apple, which has cut prices earlier this year to sustain its market share.
The Huawei launch event will take place shortly after Apple’s Sep 9 event, where the company is set to introduce its iPhone 16 lineup, emphasising the integration of artificial intelligence features in its flagship devices.
According to research firm Canalys, Huawei is the biggest foldable phone seller in China, with a 56 per cent share during the first half of 2024. It is followed by Honor, its spin-off brand.
China is the world’s biggest foldable smartphone market, accounting for half of global shipments in the second quarter. More than 1.5 million foldable handsets were shipped on the mainland that quarter.
Last year, mainland foldable smartphone shipments reached 7.01 million units, with Huawei leading the market thanks to its Mate X5 model, which was launched in September last year.