BEIJING: Chinese technology giants Huawei and Xiaomi have launched new flagship foldable smartphones as competition intensifies in the premium handset market ahead of Apple’s next major product announcement.
Huawei unveiled the Mate XT2, a tri-fold handset that opens into a tablet-sized display and uses the company’s new Kirin 9050 Pro processor. Xiaomi meanwhile introduced its 18 Fold, powered by its own XRing O3 processor.
Huawei remains particularly dominant in China’s foldable-phone sector, accounting for an estimated 68% of shipments during the second quarter of 2026. The launches come just days before Apple’s September 9 event, where expectations are unusually high that the company could enter the foldable-phone market itself.