Skip to main content

This Galaxy Z Fold 6 competitor looks like it’s from the future

The Huawei Mate XT.
Huawei

Foldable phones have been around for a little while now. They’re still cool, but they’re quickly becoming pretty commonplace. Huawei’s newest folding phone, however, looks straight out of The Expanse and is barely thicker than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, despite having two folding hinges instead of one — effectively giving you three regular-sized screens when it’s fully opened up.

The Huawei Mate XT is available in China for the equivalent of just under $3,000. Expensive for a phone, yes, but this one is truly unique. The OLED screen can open up to a total of 10.2 inches (the same size as many tablets, for reference) and has an impressive 16:11 aspect ratio.

Recommended Videos

You don’t always have to keep the phone that far open, though. Users can also use it more like a normal book-style foldable by opening only two of the folds, resulting in a 7.9-inch display. That’s close to the Pixel 9 Pro Fold in size.

The Huawei Mate XT.
Huawei

When completely unfolded, the Huawei Mate XT is just 3.6mm thick at its largest point, and that’s only to make room for a USB-C port. It’s only 12.8mm thick when completely folded and has a 6.4-inch display.

It’s wafer-thin but still comes with the kind of power you expect from a flagship device. The Mate XT has 16GB of RAM, up to 1TB of storage, and three crazy powerful cameras (50MP primary, 12MP ultrawide, and 12MP 5.5x telephoto). It also has a 5,600 mAh battery that supports fast charging and will keep you juiced up all day.

As amazing as the phone sounds, it’s unlikely to be available outside of China. It’s on sale for 19,999 Yuan, or about $2,800. U.S.-based fans will, sadly, have to wait for another Tron-worthy phone to hit the market.

Patrick Hearn
Patrick Hearn writes about smart home technology like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, smart light bulbs, and more. If it's a…
I love the Galaxy Z Fold 6, but the Pixel 9 Pro Fold may change that
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold next to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6.

A year ago, I never expected to write this. Samsung had just launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 with iterative changes over the Z Fold 4, and Google’s first attempt at a folding phone left a lot to be desired. Google had phenomenal software features like Call Screen and Live Transcribe, but Samsung had much better hardware, the S-Pen, and incredible productivity tools.

Fast-forward a year, and it’s a very different landscape. Samsung made further iterations with the Galaxy Z Fold 6, and it’s a phenomenal folding phone. The form factor and size are great, especially when using two apps side-by-side on the main display. It has an S-Pen, and I love using mine. The problem is I can’t stop thinking about the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

Read more
This jaw-dropping phone looks like the future of foldables
Official images of the Tecno Phantom Ultimate 2 concept phone.

We’re getting a glimpse of the future. The Tecno Phantom Ultimate 2 is a trifold folding smartphone, and although it’s only a concept for now, it’s a tantalizing look at where manufacturers are taking foldable design.

A step beyond folding phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, which has a single hinge and two panels for a single fold, the Phantom Ultimate 2 has two hinges and three panels. In other words, it can be folded three times — and it looks spectacular.

Read more
Samsung may have a big design change in store for its next folding phone
The hinge on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6.

More news is being reported about the rumored Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim. And once again, the news suggests that the new foldable could take some design cues from the company’s Galaxy S24 Ultra.

According to The Elec, the new phone could have a titanium backplate similar to the company’s flagship. If true, this would make the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim the company’s first titanium foldable. Until now, Samsung's foldables have featured stainless steel or carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) for their backplates.

Read more