Ahead of iPhone Ultra, Huawei launches Mate XT 2 foldable with Samsung-like privacy display

Huawei has launched its second tri-fold smartphone just days before Apple is expected to unveil its first foldable iPhone. The Mate XT 2 brings a redesigned hinge, 10.2-inch display and Kirin 9050 Pro chipset to the foldable race.

In Short

• Huawei Mate XT 2 launched as the company's second tri-fold smartphone
• It features a 10.2-inch 3K OLED display
• The phone packs a Kirin 9050 Pro chipset

Huawei has launched its second tri-fold smartphone just two days before Apple’s "Surprise and shine" event of September 9. Where the iPhone maker is set to show off its first foldable iPhone. Now, the Huawei Mate XT 2 Ultimate Design has been unveiled in China and is set to go on sale on September 10. This also means Huawei and Xiaomi have both shown their latest foldables before Apple enters the segment, giving the iPhone maker a market where Chinese brands have already set the benchmark.

Huawei Mate XT 2 Ultimate Design: Specs and features

The Huawei Mate XT 2 Ultimate Design features a 6.5-inch OLED LTPO cover display with Full-HD+ resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 6,500 nits of peak brightness. When completely unfolded, the phone turns into a 10.2-inch OLED display with 3K resolution, a 90Hz refresh rate and a 12.8:9 aspect ratio. The inner screen also gets a hardware-based privacy display that limits side viewing angles to keep the content hidden from people around you.

Huawei has redesigned the folding mechanism this time. The Mate XT 2 uses an inward-folding architecture and a new G-shaped hinge, unlike the outward-folding design used on the original Mate XT. The company says the new design also helps protect the display when the phone is folded.

Powering the tri-fold smartphone is the new Kirin 9050 Pro chipset, which is built using Huawei's LogicFolding architecture. The company claims it delivers more than 42 percent higher performance than the previous-generation chipset, while also bringing improvements to the NPU and GPU. The phone comes with 16GB of RAM, with storage options going up to 2TB.

For cameras, the Mate XT 2 gets a quad-camera setup placed on the centre panel. It includes a 50-megapixel RYYB main camera with a 1/1.28-inch sensor, variable aperture and OIS. It is joined by a 50-megapixel RYYB periscope telephoto camera with 3.5x optical zoom and a 40-megapixel RYYB ultra-wide camera. There is also a third-generation Red Maple multi-spectral colour sensor for improved colour accuracy. For selfies and video calls, Huawei has added 8-megapixel cameras to both the cover and inner displays.

The phone packs a 5,600mAh battery with support for 66W wired SuperCharge and 50W wireless charging. Despite the large battery and complex folding mechanism, the Mate XT 2 is just 3.5mm thick when unfolded. It weighs 299 grams and measures 12.3mm when folded.

The handset also gets IP58 and IP59 ratings for dust and water resistance, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and touch-sensitive buttons on both edges that can record ECG readings. Other features include M-Pen 3 stylus support, 5G, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0 LE, satellite communication, NFC and a USB Type-C 3.1 port. The phone runs HarmonyOS 7.

Huawei Mate XT 2 Ultimate Design: Price and availability

The Huawei Mate XT 2 Ultimate Design price starts at CNY 19,999 (roughly Rs 2.81 lakh) for the 16GB RAM and 256GB storage variant. The 16GB RAM and 512GB model costs CNY 21,999 (roughly Rs 3.09 lakh), while the 16GB RAM and 1TB version is priced at CNY 23,999 (roughly Rs 3.38 lakh).

Huawei is also offering a 1TB version with a privacy display for CNY 24,999 (roughly Rs 3.52 lakh). At the top of the range is the Collector Edition with 16GB RAM and 2TB storage, priced at CNY 29,999 (roughly Rs 4.22 lakh). This version also comes with the M-Pen 3 stylus.

The Huawei Mate XT 2 Ultimate Design is available in Black, Purple and White colour options. It will go on sale in China on September 10. There is no word yet on an international launch or pricing outside China.

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