Huawei Mate Xt Ultimate Trifold

Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Trifold Review – A Bold Leap into the Next Era of Smartphones

Huawei’s event took place just a few hours after the big Apple keynote on Monday, which was seen as a direct challenge to the iPhone maker. Since the initial teasers, we learned that the Huawei phone would be called the Mate XT Ultimate Trifold Design. Unlike most large-screen foldable smartphones on the market, the Mate XT is seen as the world’s tri-fold Smartphone, which unfolds like a tri-fold brochure. Huawei teased a mysterious device that looked like a triple-foldable phone. It happened after a different Chinese vendor, Tecno, unveiled a tri-fold concept.

The Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design can be preordered in mainland China, but it will cost consumers the equivalent of three brand-new iPhone 16s. In terms of design, it looks like Huawei seems to be combining both foldable approaches, such as the first generation Huawei Mate X with its outward folding design and its current Huawei Mate X5 with a more conventional inward folding design with two separate displays.

With three panels, the Huawei Mate XT features a large, singular 10.2” 120Hz LTPO OLED display, which is equivalent to a full-sized tablet. When fully unfolded, it has a resolution of 2232 x 3184 pixels, and if unfolded in a 2-pane mode, it becomes a 7.9” screen with 2232 x 2048 pixels resolution.

The foldable phone is available in Dark Black and Rui Red color options, can be preordered via Huawei Vmall, and will go on sale in China starting September 20. The company has yet to provide details of the chipset that powers the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design, equipped with 16GB of RAM. It is available in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage options.

On the outside, the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design has a 50MP camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) and a variable aperture that ranges between f/1.2 and f/4.0. It also features a 12MP periscope telephoto camera with 5.5x optical zoom and a 12MP ultra-wide camera with an f/2.2 aperture, OIS, and an f/3.4 aperture. An 8MP camera on the Smartphone’s display for video calls and selfies is housed in a center-aligned hole-punch cutout.

Huawei calls this display 3K, positioning it as a middle ground between 2K (QHD) and 4K. The screen has a 92% screen-to-body ratio, with the fully unfolded 10.2-inch display boasting a 16:11 aspect ratio.

Huawei also claims to enhance the display with AI Computing Image Quality. The rear camera setup resembles the Mate X5 but incorporates Huawei’s P-series features. With PDAF and OIS, the primary camera is a 50MP sensor paired with the P60 Pro’s aperture of f/1.4 to f/4.0.

There’s also a 12MP telephoto lens with 5.5x optical zoom, a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and a laser autofocus module. As you would expect for a phone with a gigantic 10.2” display, the Mate XT is quite heavy at 298g and has a thickness of 12.8mm when folded. When fully unfolded, it is 3.6mm thin at the thinnest point. Despite its rather thin form factor, it still has a pretty impressive triple-camera array housed in an octagon camera bump. It features a 50MP main camera with variable f/1.4 to f/4.0 aperture and OIS, a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 12MP periscope telephoto shooter that offers 5.5x optical zoom. The foldable device also has an 8MP front camera.

The large display features an 8MP front camera in a punchhole. When folded, the camera functions as a selfie camera. The Mate XT Ultimate hinge system, named after the Tiangong space station, allows for internal and external bending using dual tracks and moving parts to ensure zero-gap folding. The hinge is constructed from a composite laminate with non-Newtonian fluid components, adding durability.

Huawei says the Mate XT’s single-screen mode is ideal for daily tasks, the dual-screen mode is optimized for web browsing and reading, and the fully unfolded triple-screen mode is best for detailed work or study. The large screen enhances productivity tools like email, financial management, multitasking, video playback, and AI-based features.

However, Huawei hasn’t specified whether these AI tools are cloud-based or on-device, and we don’t know the chipset. We do know the phone comes with 16GB of RAM. If you haven’t seen the price of the XT Ultimate yet, let’s say it is a premium device. Besides the phone itself, there are the usual home and car chargers, not one but two USB cables, Huawei Free Buds 5, and a protective case.

As usual, Huawei doesn’t disclose the processor on its official product page. However, it is said to be a Kirin 9010 chip running on their current Pura 70 flagship smartphone series. The device is configured with 16GB of RAM and 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage options. Another poster reports that the device is tricky to use with one hand, even when folded. The issue is not just the weight; the XT tips the scales at 298g, which is a lot for a phone but relatively light for a 10.2” tablet; the problem is weight distribution.

Connectivity options on the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design include 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, NFC, and a USB 3.1 Type-C port. There’s a side-mounted fingerprint scanner for biometric authentication, and the handset packs a 5,600mAh battery with support for 66W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. It measures 156.7 x 73 x 12.8mm (single screen), 156.7 x 143 x 7.45mm (dual screen), and 156.7 x 219 x 3.6mm (triple screen), and it weighs 298g.

Above, we have listed the dimensions of all three configurations. The bottom segment is thicker than the other two (4.75mm vs. 3.6mm) and holds the chunky camera island. That island has a capable triple camera with a 50MP main (f/1.4 to f/4.0 aperture, OIS), 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, and a 5.5x 12MP periscope (f/3.4, OIS). There is also an 8MP selfie camera that lives on the top segment, so it’s usable when fully folded and fully unfolded; it goes on the back in the dual-screen configuration.

The Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design is currently available for pre-order in mainland China and will be available on 19th September. Here’s the official pricing.

16GB + 256GB is priced at CNY 19,999 (about RM 12,188)

16GB + 512GB is priced at CNY 21,999 (about RM 13,407)

16GB + 1TB is priced at CNY 23,999 (about RM 14,626)

The device features the upgraded Xiaoyi voice assistant, known internationally as Celia. AI functions include voice-to-text, automatic split-screen, real-time document translation, and photo retouching. The device runs on HarmonyOS 4.2, an OS based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) without Google services. A key feature available only in the Chinese market is dual-way satellite communication, connecting only to Tiantong satellites via China Telecom.

A larger screen would require more power. The Mate XT has a total battery capacity of 5,600mAh, split into three modules as thin as 1.9mm. It supports fast wired USB-C charging of up to 66W and fast wireless charging of up to 50W. When fully folded, the Mate XT is a candy bar smartphone with a 6.4” 2232 x 1008 pixels resolution display. It is like a typical 8” foldable smartphone but with an extra flip-out cover display as an extended panel.