China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為) yesterday unveiled the world’s first tri-foldable phone, as it seeks to expand its lead in the world’s biggest smartphone market and steal the spotlight from Apple Inc hours after it debuted a new iPhone.
The Chinese tech giant showed off its new Mate XT, which users can fold three ways like an accordion screen door, during a launch ceremony in Shenzhen.
The Mate XT comes in red and black and has a 10.2-inch display screen. At 3.6mm thick, it is the world’s slimmest foldable smartphone, Huawei said.
Photo: AFP
The company’s Web site showed that it has garnered more than 3 million pre-orders for its Z-shaped tri-fold phone. This underscores Huawei’s ability to navigate US sanctions and solidifies its position against Apple in China, where some consumers criticized the new iPhone 16 for its lack of artificial intelligence (AI) features in the country.
Both smartphones are due to go on sale on Friday next week, the companies said.
Huawei already has two-way foldable phones in its lineup, and their strong sales in China helped it overtake Samsung Electronics Co this year as the biggest vendor of such phones globally.
However, with a price tag that starts at 19,999 yuan (US$2,809) — more than twice the starting price of the comparable iPhone 16 Pro Max — and limited production, the tri-fold phone is likely to become more of a symbol of Huawei’s tech prowess than a major sales driver, analysts said.
“The upcoming Huawei products are not expected to significantly impact Samsung and Apple’s businesses in terms of product quantity,” Counterpoint Research senior analyst Jene Park said.
“There is a limit to the quantity of products supplied. However, there may be some impact on sales in certain Chinese markets,” Park added.
Foldable smartphones account for just 1.3 percent of the broader smartphone market, and Huawei ranked as the world’s biggest foldable smartphone seller in the second quarter with a 27.5 percent market share, ahead of Samsung, with 16.4 percent, according to International Data Corp.
While Apple for years enjoyed strong demand in China, where new iPhone launches once sparked a frenzy, its sales have dwindled and the company’s ranking in China has now dropped from third to sixth place.
Apple and technology companies around the world are racing to add AI to products, and phones are expected to be among the most important battlegrounds.
The Cupertino, California-based company also is betting the AI feature would drive consumers to upgrade amid a slowdown in iPhone sales, which account for more than half of its total sales.
Apple Intelligence, the company’s AI software, will be used to improve its Siri personal assistant, as well as enhancing features such as understanding and identifying objects captured by the phone camera, the company said.
A test version of Apple Intelligence will be available in English as spoken in the US next month. It will be available for other localized versions of English in December, with versions in languages including Chinese, French, Japanese and Spanish next year.
The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will use the new A18 chip and have an aluminum back, as well as a new customizable button that can be used for camera controls. The iPhone 16 will start at US$799 and the iPhone 16 Plus will start at US$899.
Apple also unveiled iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max, titanium models with a faster chip, the A18 Pro, and more AI capability, such as offering suggestions on how to set up a photo shoot more effectively. The iPhone 16 Pro will start at US$999 and the 16 Pro Max starts at US$1,199.
The company also introduced new Watches and AirPods with health-focused capabilities, as well as improvements in hardware design.
Taiwan’s technology protection rules prohibits Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) from producing 2-nanometer chips abroad, so the company must keep its most cutting-edge technology at home, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks in response to concerns that TSMC might be forced to produce advanced 2-nanometer chips at its fabs in Arizona ahead of schedule after former US president Donald Trump was re-elected as the next US president on Tuesday. “Since Taiwan has related regulations to protect its own technologies, TSMC cannot produce 2-nanometer chips overseas currently,” Kuo said at a meeting of the legislature’s
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
TECH WAR CONTINUES: The suspension of TSMC AI chips and GPUs would be a heavy blow to China’s chip designers and would affect its competitive edge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is reportedly to halt supply of artificial intelligence (AI) chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) made on 7-nanometer or more advanced process technologies from next week in order to comply with US Department of Commerce rules. TSMC has sent e-mails to its Chinese AI customers, informing them about the suspension starting on Monday, Chinese online news outlet Ijiwei.com (愛集微) reported yesterday. The US Department of Commerce has not formally unveiled further semiconductor measures against China yet. “TSMC does not comment on market rumors. TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
RSS