Only available in China, the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate is the first folding smartphone capable of folding twice, which allows it to boast a screen surface worthy of a tablet (10.2 inches). In Paris, Numerama had the opportunity to try it during a hands-on event organized by Huawei France.
It will probably never be available in France, but is still worth a look. THE Huawei Mate XT Ultimatea folding smartphone announced in China on September 10 (the day after the iPhone 16), is a device without any equivalent on the smartphone market. For good reason: it has a giant 10.2-inch screen, has a record thinness of 3.6 millimeters and can fold twice to fit in a pocket. Huawei is the first manufacturer to market a dual-hinge device, although brands like Samsung have already presented similar prototypes in the past.
On the surface, Huawei ridicules Samsung, Google and Xiaomi
What stands out is its extreme finesse, which has no equivalent on the electronics market. Even the iPad Pro M4, the thinnest product in Apple’s history, is thicker (5.1 mm vs. 3.6 mm for the Mate XT unfolded). The Galaxy Z Fold 6, Samsung’s folding flagship, is 5.6mm thick when in tablet mode.
Folded too, despite the superposition of three layers, Huawei achieves a feat. At its thickest place (where there is the camera module), the smartphone is 12.8 mm thick, just a little thicker than the Galaxy Z Fold 6 (12.1 millimeters). The Chinese brand invented the first large-format tablet that fits in a pocket, which is a significant achievement.
Despite its extreme thinness, the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate has a battery with a capacity of 5,600 mAh. The brand indicates that the three batteries of its device have an unprecedented thinness of 1.6 millimeters, which, again, has no equivalent on the market.
The next trend in the smartphone market could be the advent of thinner and thinner smartphones, which is in line with the iPhone 17 Air rumor. Huawei, as often in the past, acts as a precursor. We can’t wait to see what a smartphone with such a thin battery could look like, especially if it doesn’t fold.
| Unfolded | Folded | |
|---|---|---|
| Huawei Mate XT | 3,6 mm | 12,8 mm |
| Galaxy Z Fold 6 | 5,6 mm | 12,1 mm |
| Pixel 9 Pro Fold | 5,1 mm | 10,5 mm |
| Honor Magic V3 | 4,4 mm | 9,2 mm |
| iPhone 16 Pro Max | 8,25 mm | – |
| iPad Pro M4 | 5,1 mm | – |
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For the rest, even if it folds twice and has an even larger display surface, the Huawei Mate XT is a folding smartphone like any other. The folds are visible on the screen, its OLED panel is protected by plastic (and is satisfied with a 90 Hz refresh rate) and its camera module is attractive, but not the best. The device looks like it was taken from a science fiction film. It can be used in 1-screen mode (6.4 inches), 2-screen mode (7.9 inches, with a rear screen for camera feedback), and 3-screen mode (10.2 inches).
At a minimum of 19,999 yuan, or more than 2,500 euros in direct conversion, the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate is a very expensive smartphone. It will probably never be launched in France, where Huawei still does not have Google technologies, but it opens the door to ultra-thin smartphones capable of folding on all sides.
Source: www.numerama.com
