In the same week Apple unveiled its latest iPhone, Huawei answered with a three-panel foldable device that gathered 3.6 million pre-orders — nearly matching the entire global quarterly foldable market. The move is less about a single product and more about a company signaling, after years of American sanctions, that it has not been diminished. China's smartphone market, the world's largest, becomes the stage on which two very different visions of technological leadership are now being tested.
Huawei's Mate XT Foldable Draws 3.6M Pre-Orders in Challenge to Apple
3.6 million pre-orders for a single device that nearly match an entire product category's quarterly volume
Mark
So 3.6 million pre-orders—is that a lot? How do we know if that's actually impressive?
Mimi
It's bigger than the entire global foldable market in a single quarter. That's the comparison that matters. But Mark, these are pre-orders with no deposit, so the friction is low.
Luke
Right. And we don't know the conversion rate. How many of those 3.6 million will actually buy when they have to pay? That's the real number we're missing.
Mark
Fair point. So what does this tell us about Huawei's position against Apple?
Mimi
It shows Huawei can still innovate and generate excitement in China despite U.S. sanctions. That's the story—they're not frozen out, they're moving forward.
Luke
But the analysts quoted in the piece say high price and limited supply mean it won't be a market disruptor. So it's a prestige play, not a volume play.
Mark
A symbol, then. A way of saying "we're still here, we're still building."
Mimi
Exactly. And in China, that matters. Apple dominates globally, but Huawei is making a statement in its home market.
Luke
The timing with Apple's iPhone launch is interesting, but we should note—we don't have Huawei's actual production numbers or pricing yet. The story is built on pre-orders and analyst speculation about what comes next.
Mark
So we're watching a moment, not a conclusion.
Mimi
Yes. The Mate XT is real, the pre-orders are real, but whether this becomes a real competitor to the iPhone or stays a luxury curiosity—that's still being written.
Der Puls
- Huawei timed its Mate XT reveal to land directly alongside Apple's iPhone launch, turning a product announcement into a geopolitical and commercial provocation.
- 3.6 million pre-orders — requiring no deposit — nearly equal the entire world's quarterly foldable phone shipments, a number that commands attention even if it overstates true demand.
- Years of U.S. sanctions were supposed to slow Huawei down, yet the Mate XT's three-way fold pushes beyond anything Samsung or Apple has brought to market.
- Analysts are pumping the brakes: steep pricing, limited production, and deposit-free reservations mean the gap between pre-orders and actual sales could be wide.
- The Mate XT is landing less as a mass-market disruptor and more as a carefully engineered statement — proof of survival, ambition, and a direct challenge to Apple on Chinese soil.
In the same week Apple unveiled its latest iPhone, Huawei answered with a three-panel foldable device that gathered 3.6 million pre-orders — nearly matching the entire global quarterly foldable market. The move is less about a single product and more about a company signaling, after years of American sanctions, that it has not been diminished. China's smartphone market, the world's largest, becomes the stage on which two very different visions of technological leadership are now being tested.
Huawei has unveiled the Mate XT, a three-panel foldable smartphone that bends the form factor further than any competitor has attempted. The pre-order figure — 3.6 million reservations — is the number that stopped the industry: IDC data puts the entire global foldable market at roughly 4 million units shipped in a single quarter, meaning Huawei has nearly matched that total for one device before it has sold a single unit.
The timing was deliberate. Huawei chose to reveal the Mate XT as Apple was introducing its newest iPhone, framing the launch as a direct challenge in China, the world's largest smartphone market. For a company that has spent years working around American sanctions limiting its access to advanced chips and software, the Mate XT's existence is itself a message — that the restrictions have not stopped the innovation.
Analysts, however, are careful not to read too much into the pre-order surge. The reservations required no deposit, making them easier to accumulate than actual sales. The device is expected to carry a high price and will not be produced in large volumes, which positions it more as a showcase of engineering ambition than a product likely to reshape the broader market.
What the Mate XT achieves, regardless of eventual sales figures, is a demonstration that Huawei can still generate genuine excitement at home, still push hardware into territory others haven't entered, and still compete directly with Apple on the terms that matter most in China: novelty, prestige, and technological daring.
Huawei has released a three-panel foldable phone called the Mate XT, and the numbers are striking: 3.6 million people have already placed pre-orders, even though no deposit was required to do so. That figure matters because the entire global foldable phone market shipped roughly 4 million units in the last quarter, according to IDC data. In other words, Huawei has taken advance orders for a single device that nearly match the total quarterly volume of an entire product category worldwide.
The timing is deliberate. Huawei unveiled the Mate XT as Apple was introducing its latest iPhone model, making the move a direct statement of intent in China, which remains the world's largest smartphone market. For Huawei, the launch carries weight beyond the device itself. The company has spent years navigating American sanctions that have constrained its access to advanced semiconductors and software. The Mate XT's existence—and the appetite it has generated—signals that Huawei has found ways to continue innovating despite those restrictions.
The three-way fold is the engineering story here. It represents a step beyond the two-panel foldables that Samsung and others have brought to market. Huawei is positioning itself not just as a competitor to Apple but as a technological leader willing to pursue form factors that others have not yet attempted. The pre-order surge suggests that Chinese consumers, at least, are interested in what the company is building.
But analysts are cautious about what this pre-order number actually means for the broader market. The Mate XT is expected to carry a steep price tag, and Huawei has not committed to producing the device in large quantities. That combination—high cost and scarcity—means the phone may function more as a symbol of Huawei's engineering prowess than as a device that will reshape the smartphone landscape. Pre-orders without a deposit requirement are also easier to accumulate than sales; not every person who reserves a phone will complete the purchase when the bill comes due.
What the Mate XT does accomplish is clear: it demonstrates that Huawei remains a serious player in smartphone innovation, that it can generate consumer excitement in its home market, and that it is willing to compete directly with Apple on the terrain of cutting-edge hardware. Whether those pre-orders convert into actual sales, and whether the device moves beyond a niche product for early adopters and enthusiasts, remains to be seen.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Analysts predict that the Mate XT's anticipated high price and limited availability may render it more a symbol of technological innovation than a major market disruptor— Industry analysts cited in reporting
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