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Short Summary
Main recommendation: The Huawei Mate XT is presented as the world's first tri-fold phone, and the reviewer's verdict is that it is a remarkable engineering achievement that feels well-considered despite real trade-offs in battery, speakers, and water resistance. The reviewer imported one from China, since it is China-only and not something he expects to daily-drive.
Key Points
- Closed, it is a 6.4-inch phone at about 13 mm thick, roughly the same thickness as the Galaxy Z Fold 6, and the reviewer rates it an 8 out of 10 as a regular smartphone.
- Opened once, it becomes a 7.9-inch near-square tablet mode with a small, easy-to-ignore first crease; the reviewer rates this mode a 7 out of 10 and feels it wasn't really meant to be used this way most of the time.
- Fully opened, it becomes a 10.2-inch corner-to-corner 90 Hz OLED display (3,184 by 2,232 resolution) that still fits in a pocket, which the reviewer rates a 10 out of 10 and says no other device can do.
- Flagship specs include a Kirin 9010 chip, up to 16 GB RAM, up to 1 TB storage, and triple rear cameras including a 50 MP main camera with a variable aperture.
- Main trade-offs are a 5,600 mAh battery (smaller than typical 10-inch tablets, which often have 8,000+ mAh), weak speakers, no IP water or dust rating, and a price around $3,000 to $3,500 US in China.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions: Unfold the phone in the correct order, with the two inner panels facing each other. If you unfold it the wrong way, the phone displays a prompt asking you to fold it differently.
- Concrete instructions: To use the included case's kickstand, rotate it to one of several angles to prop the phone up for video. Rotate it out of the way to expose the wireless charging coils, since wireless charging works only when the phone is flipped sideways on certain chargers.
- Concrete instructions: The reviewer warns against using an unfolded panel as a kickstand, since it scratches the screen.
- Software: The UI stretches across all panels when fully opened, and the reviewer notes the phone runs mostly Chinese-only software, with Google services only partly reachable through workarounds.
- Camera trick: Taking a selfie with the rear main camera while the front-facing panel shows a full-size preview on the other side.
- The phone comes with a pre-installed screen protector and an 80-watt charger, and supports 67-watt wired and 50-watt wireless charging.
Bottom Line: The Huawei Mate XT is a striking, usable tri-fold that pushes the category forward, but its battery, speakers, lack of water resistance, and China-only software keep it from being a practical daily driver for most buyers.
