Chinese social media is boasting about the innovations brought by Huawei’s new triple-fold smartphone, which has managed to rise from the ashes and respond to Apple despite the American sanctions that initially crippled it.
The Mate XT, the first phone that folds into three, was unveiled on Tuesday, just hours after Apple revealed the iPhone 16, which incorporates artificial intelligence features.
Both the iPhone 16 and the Mate XT will hit stores on the same day, September 20, although Huawei’s new model is not expected to be available outside China.
Its price could only be described as steep, starting at $2,800 and reaching up to $3,300.
“Apple hasn’t fallen, but Huawei has really picked itself back up,” commented a user on Weibo, China’s equivalent of X.
“Times are changing. The American sanctions were in vain,” remarked another.
A video allegedly showing Apple store employees in China going to a Huawei store to check out the Mate XT became the No. 2 trend on Weibo for 13 hours, gathering 91 million views and over 6,600 comments.
The event showcasing the Mate XT was streamed live at Huawei stores (Reuters)
The launch of the Mate XT comes after Huawei’s return to the high-end 5G mobile market last year with the Mate 60 series. Earlier this year, the premium Pura series, based on domestic chip production, was released.
The developments, Reuters notes, are recognized in China as a triumph against the American sanctions that have barred Huawei from accessing US technologies since 2019.
Washington and Brussels consider Huawei a national security threat due to fears that Beijing could use the company’s products for espionage, which Huawei denies.
Since 2019, American sanctions have expanded to prohibit the export of advanced American chips to any Chinese company.
Apple’s Decline
However, Apple is also facing problems in the Chinese market. American OpenAI, which it collaborates with for AI features in iPhones, does not operate in China, and Apple has not found an alternative partner. Furthermore, Apple Intelligence will not be available in Chinese until 2025.
Apple fell off the list of the top five smartphone suppliers in China in the second quarter, according to Canalys. It was the first time that domestic players held all five positions, the firm stated.
Huawei ranks fourth, having delivered 10.6 million smartphones.