HUAWEI has launched the Mate XT 2 Ultimate Design, the second generation of the only tri-fold smartphone line in mass production — and it rethinks the fold itself. Where the original Mate XT wrapped its screen around the outside of the device, the new model uses what HUAWEI calls a wing-like tri-fold design that opens from both sides, keeping the 10.2-inch display better protected when closed, according to the company's launch announcement. Prices in China start at CNY 19,999 (around ₱186,000).
A new chip for the folding problem
The launch carries two chip stories. The Mate XT 2 debuts the Kirin 9050 Pro, which HUAWEI says delivers a 42 percent overall performance gain over the previous generation. It is also the first phone with HUAWEI's LogicFolding Tau chip — silicon dedicated to managing the tri-fold mechanism — marking, in the company's words, the chip's entry into mass commercialization.
Durability is the other engineering pitch. The main screen stacks a large ultra-thin glass layer, aerospace-grade high-strength steel, and a carbon-fiber support layer; the cover screen uses HUAWEI's Xuanwu Kunlun Glass with anti-glare treatment. The phone carries IP58/59 dust and water resistance — unusual for any foldable, let alone a tri-fold.
Specs at a glance
| Spec | HUAWEI Mate XT 2 Ultimate Design |
|---|
| Main display | 10.2-inch LTPO OLED, 3184 x 2232, 90Hz |
| Cover display | 6.5-inch LTPO OLED, 120Hz |
| Chip | Kirin 9050 Pro + LogicFolding Tau |
| Cameras | 50MP main (f/1.5–f/4.0), 50MP 3.5x periscope telephoto, 40MP ultra-wide |
| Battery | 5,600mAh, 66W wired / 50W wireless |
| Folded thickness | 12.3mm, 299g |
| Software | HarmonyOS 7 |
The camera hardware is notable for a foldable this thin: the main sensor keeps a variable f/1.5–f/4.0 aperture, and the 3.5x periscope telephoto survives the tri-fold packaging, per GSMArena's spec listing. The cover screen runs at 1140 x 2442 resolution, and the main panel uses 1440Hz high-frequency PWM dimming to cut flicker at low brightness. Selfie duty falls to twin 8MP cameras — one usable in each folded state — and the main sensor keeps HUAWEI's RYYB color-filter arrangement with LOFIC technology for high-dynamic-range scenes. RAM is fixed at 16GB, with storage running from 256GB up to 2TB on the top model at CNY 29,999 (around ₱279,000).
Price and availability
- CNY 19,999 (around ₱186,000) — 16GB + 256GB, with a stylus set included
- CNY 29,999 (around ₱279,000) — 16GB + 2TB
China sales open September 12, following the launch event in Guangzhou. GSMArena currently lists an expected wider release at the end of October.
Will it reach the Philippines?
Not yet, officially. HUAWEI has not announced international availability for the Mate XT 2, and no Philippine pricing exists — the peso figures above are conversions, not an SRP. The original Mate XT never got a formal Philippine retail launch either, though the Mate XT 2's pre-order phase was closely watched here, and gray-market units of HUAWEI's foldables do circulate. For Filipino buyers, the practical reference points are the book-style foldables that do launch here: at a converted ₱186,000, the Mate XT 2 costs nearly twice a flagship like the Xiaomi 18 Fold at around ₱102,500 converted, and well above locally sold book-style foldables. If HUAWEI follows its usual pattern, an international variant announcement — with actual local pricing, if any — would come weeks after the China launch. Until then, this is a phone to admire from a distance: the most mechanically ambitious foldable anyone is mass-producing, at a price to match.
