Huawei Unveils Tri-Fold Foldable Phone, Challenging Apple: Who is the "New Big Brother"?

Huawei Unveils Tri-Fold Foldable Phone, Challenging Apple: Who is the "New Big Brother"?In September 2024, smartphone manufacturers are gearing up for a showdown at the "Technology Spring Festival," and Huawei has chosen to confront Apple head-on by holding its launch event on the same day. Huawei's official terminal announced that it will host the Huawei See the Extraordinary Brand Ceremony and HarmonyOS Smart Travel New Product Launch Conference on September 10th at 2:30 PM, coinciding with Apple's autumn launch event

Huawei Unveils Tri-Fold Foldable Phone, Challenging Apple: Who is the "New Big Brother"?

In September 2024, smartphone manufacturers are gearing up for a showdown at the "Technology Spring Festival," and Huawei has chosen to confront Apple head-on by holding its launch event on the same day. Huawei's official terminal announced that it will host the Huawei See the Extraordinary Brand Ceremony and HarmonyOS Smart Travel New Product Launch Conference on September 10th at 2:30 PM, coinciding with Apple's autumn launch event. They boast that they will bring "the most leading, innovative, and disruptive products."

According to official posters and online rumors, this "disruptive" product is highly likely to be the previously leaked Huawei tri-fold foldable phone. The most significant highlight of this phone is its inner screen, which can be unfolded and folded twice, incorporating two hinges. When unfolded, the inner screen size will significantly increase to around 10 inches, making it a "tablet phone."

Tri-Fold Foldable: Huawei Redefines Foldable Screen Experience

Compared to current mainstream foldable phones, the Huawei tri-fold foldable phone offers a different screen size and aspect ratio when unfolded. This requires developers to optimize software specifically to avoid user experience "stumbling blocks." However, Huawei, with the rapid development and strong appeal of its HarmonyOS NEXT ecosystem, is capable of quickly completing ecosystem adaptation.

There are also rumors that the biggest highlight of this tri-fold foldable phone is not its form but its support for HarmonyOS PC-level applications, truly achieving full ecosystem interconnectivity. This will be an advantage that other manufacturers currently cannot match.

The tri-fold design also brings challenges, including usage lifespan, heat buildup, reduced battery life, and compromised configurations. The market awaits to see if Huawei can overcome these challenges.

Core Configuration: Kirin 9-Series Processor, HarmonyNext Self-Developed System

The Huawei tri-fold foldable phone will be equipped with a Kirin 9-series processor, but whether it will be the Kirin 9100 processor from the Pura70 series or the more powerful Kirin 9200 (tentative name) is yet to be confirmed.

In addition, the phone will feature a built-in large model and the first-ever HarmonyNext self-developed system. Due to the surge in costs, the price of this tri-fold foldable phone is unlikely to be less than 20,000 yuan, making it a "rich man's toy."

Supply Chain Bottleneck, Limited Production

Due to the immaturity of the supply chain, the production volume of the Huawei tri-fold foldable phone is not high. The total initial supply may be only around 10,000 units. This means the phone is very likely to become a new generation of "financial product," and its limited release will make it a "status symbol."

Huawei "Targeting" Apple: Confident or Courageous?

Huawei's decision to launch its new phone on the same day as Apple's launch event demonstrates strong confidence and strength. Looking back, Huawei successfully taught Apple a lesson with the Mate60 series that was sold before it was released last year.

According to IDC data, in the first half of 2024, Huawei regained its position as the top smartphone vendor in the Chinese market with a 17.5% market share. The Mate60 series, Pura70 series, and MateX5 have achieved impressive sales and reputation in China, especially in the foldable phone market where they have surpassed Samsung to become the No. 1 in the entire foldable phone market.

Huawei's success has also shown a path for Chinese smartphone brands: they must come up with more "unique" features to gain consumer recognition. The tri-fold foldable phone launched this time is a perfect example.

Domestic Supply Chain Rises, Apple "Lies Flat" on Innovation

The launch of the Huawei tri-fold foldable phone signifies that the domestic supply chain, from panels to core technologies such as hinges, has truly achieved global leadership. In contrast, Apple has already revealed a lot about the iPhone 16 series, but so far, the biggest upgrade might be the addition of a "non-innovative" physical camera button and new color options.

The iPhone 16 series still features a 60Hz refresh rate screen and 20W "fast charging," even lagging behind Apple phones from two or three years ago. Apple seems to have gotten used to "lying flat" and "winning while lying down."

Although many Apple fans say "Apple's sales have never lost," the new iPhones have received less and less attention in recent years, and the decline in sales and market share is an undeniable fact.

Market Test: Can Apple Maintain Its "Big Brother" Status?

If the biggest selling point of the iPhone 16, AI, truly doesn't support the Chinese market, or even doesn't support WeChat App, how can this phone be sold, making it the only highlight of Apple's launch event.

The launch of the Huawei tri-fold foldable phone will challenge Apple's "big brother" status in the smartphone industry. Who will become the true leader in innovation? The answer is about to be revealed by the market.