Not long ago, foldable devices were just concept devices, but now they are relatively common. And some manufacturers are already looking at the next stage of their evolution – more foldables! Yesterday, the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate, a tri-foldable device, was introduced, which is practically a 10-inch tablet that fits in your pocket.
Is it too big? Well, the first hands-on reports from China are in and the answer is: it’s big, but not impossibly big. The XT consists of three segments that can be disassembled in stages.
Huawei Mate XT Ultimate is 12.8mm thick
The first stage is fully folded, giving you a 6.4-inch display in a 12.8mm thick device. One of the posters points out that the bottom segment is slightly wider than the top two, meaning that when you hold the Mate XT Ultimate in this configuration, you’re mostly holding the bottom segment.
| Huawei Mate XT Ultimate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Configuration | Screen size | Height | Width | Thickness |
| Completely assembled | 6.4” | 156.7mm | 73.5mm | 12.8mm |
| Dual screen | 7.9” | 143.0mm | 7.45 / 4.75mm | |
| Triple screen | 10.2” | 219.0mm | 3.6 / 3.6 / 4.75mm | |
Another user reports that the device is difficult to use with one hand, even when folded. The problem isn’t just the weight – the XT weighs 298g, which is a lot for a phone, but quite light for a 10.2” tablet – the problem is the weight distribution.
We’ve listed the dimensions for all three configurations above. It’s worth noting that the bottom segment is also slightly thicker than the other two (4.75mm versus 3.6mm) and houses a fairly thick camera island as well. To be fair, that island is home to a capable triple camera setup, with a 5MP main camera (f/1.4-f/4.0 aperture, OIS), a 12MP ultra-wide-angle (f/2.2), and a 5.5x 12MP periscope (f/3.4, OIS). There’s also an 8MP selfie camera, which is located in the “top” segment so it can be used both fully folded and fully unfolded, but in the dual-screen configuration, it’s placed on the back.
Huawei Mate XT Ultimate
If you’re brave enough, you can fold one of the segments and lay it face down so that it supports the rest of the phone as a sort of stand. You’re probably better off using an official protective case, though.
It has a built-in kickstand – using it doesn’t involve the risk of scratching your precious screen. Interestingly, it can be rotated 270°, so you can use it in several orientations. If you think about it, there are 6 possible ways to use the kickstand: three ways to fold the XT Ultimate, times two for landscape or portrait orientation.
Huawei Mate XT Ultimate protective case has a stand
If you haven’t seen the price of the XT Ultimate yet, let’s just say it’s a premium device. And it’s packaged in such a way, with the handy how-to video below starting with the unboxing section. In addition to the phone itself, there’s a home and car charger, not one but two USB cables, the Huawei FreeBuds 5, and a protective case. The video also shows how HarmonyOS is capable of adapting its user interface to the ever-changing size and orientation of the screen.
Here’s another tutorial video, this time in English:
The XT Ultimate houses a 5600mAh battery, which is impressive considering how thin these segments are. Charging is also fast, at up to 66W via USB-C and up to 50W wirelessly. The phone is powered by the Kirin 9010, more details on that in a separate post.
The Huawei Mate XT Ultimate starts at CNY20,000 (USD2,800/EUR2,550), and will be available exclusively in China from September 19. However, we don’t think there’s much chance of this model making it to a global market, so the rest of the world will have to make do with the dual-folding models.
Source 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (in Chinese) | 5
