TMTPost -- Huawe Technologies Co. has never been so clearly showcased its ambition to challenge Apple Inc. in the smartphone market.

Credit：Huawei

Huawei launched Mate XT Ultimate Design, the world’s first commercial triple-screen foldable smartphone, at an event held in Shenzhen Tuesday.  Mate XT is “the largest and thinnest foldable handset globally”, said Yu Chengdong, chairman of Huawei Consumer Business Group (BG) and the Intelligent Automotive Solution BG. Yu touted Huawei will once again rewrite histroy of the indusgry and lead a new era of foldable devices.

With a breaktrhough of dual-hinge system, Mate XT Ultimate Design features an inverse dual-hinge design that folds in a “Z” shape, allowing it to be used in a variety of formats.The smartphone is 3.6 millimerts thick and has a 6.4-inch OLED display and it can be expanded to 10.2 inches when fully unfolded. it still can be used in a smaller 7.9-inch configuration when partially unfurled. Huawei said the new Mate XT can be switched between single-, dual-and triple-screen as its screen is made of flexible materials and its hinge system involves two tracks working in tandem to support inward and outward folds.

Powered by an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant with text summary, translation and edit functions, Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design comes in red and black, starting at RMB19,999 (US$2,809) for the 256GB storage model. The variant with additional RAM storage of 512GB costs RMB21,999, and RMB23,999 for the variant with 1TB. The device has generated significant buzz. After the launch event, the total pre-orders that Huawei has received topped 4 million  since it was available online in China Saturday, according to the company’s website. Huawei didn’t disclose when the new Mate XT would be available outside of China.

Huawei’ smartphone launch came hours after Apple held its most important event this year called Glowtime, highlight growing competition Apple is facing from Chinese rivals. At the event, the U.S. tech giant introduced the new iPhone 16 lineup, built from the ground up for Apple Intelligence,  its advanced personal AI system introduced at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this year in June. The latest iPhone series feature the faster, more efficient A18 and A18 Pro chips, making these the most advanced and capable iPhone models ever.

Apple is seeking to entice buyers with AI features that are still on the horizon. It said the first set of AI tricks hit devices next month includes Writing Tools, Mail and notifications summaries, a more natural and flexible Siri, the Clean Up tool in Photos. many more Apple Intelligence features will roll out later this year and in the coming months. Out of them, Image Playground will allow users to create playful images in moments.  Image Wand will create an image using context from the surrounding area when a user circles an empty space. Users can create original Genmoji by simply typing a description, or by selecting a photo of a friend or family member. Siri will be even more capable, with the ability to draw on a user’s personal context to deliver intelligence that is tailored to them. Moreover, users have the option to access ChatGPT’s broad world knowledge from several experiences within Apple’s operating systems like iOS 18.