Now, let’s be honest: When foldable phones first came out, they were really cool but made little
practical sense. We wanted a phone that would double as a tablet for the best of both worlds, not
weak, price-gouging devices that didn’t seem to actually deliver, right? Good potential but a
whole lot of trade-offs on the foldables side of things.
That was until I saw Huawei’s Mate XT. Spoiler alert: this phone is something different! Let me
tell you why.
Where Fordable Phones come short
One thing is for sure: Foldables are far from being perfect. Sure, the big screen is great, but you’re
sacrificing durability, battery life, and camera quality in comparison to those flagship slab phones that
will abound out there. And the price? Well, let’s just say it’s not for the faint-hearted. You’re paying $600
more than the Galaxy S24 Ultra for the Z Fold 6, and what do you get? A bigger screen, which the vast,
vast majority of applications and software haven’t even worked out how to properly use yet.
That’s why I, like many others, started wondering whether foldable phones are indeed worth all the fuss.
Is it just another flashy gimmick and does not really deliver? Then, of course, along comes Huawei with
the Mate XT that totally flipped the foldable script.
Huawei Mate XT: Bigger. Better. Different.
Source: gsmarena
When I first heard rumors of a tri-fold phone, I was skeptical. If beholds haven’t impressed me, then why
would a trifold? I was wrong. Completely wrong.
The Huawei Mate XT is not a folding phone, but it’s a changing phone. Unfurled completely, the Mate
XT sports a really gigantic 10.2 inches screen-a real tablet-intersecting experience. You sort of feel you
carry a mini desktop in your pocket. Screens this big to really be able to enjoy full-screen apps, web
pages, and videos without feeling that you are looking through something that’s been repeatedly
downscaled and squinted at, squeezed by a term that perhaps doesn’t really convey how unifying that
experience can be.
But how often are you going to be thinking of the full-tablet experience? You can partially fold Mate XT
for a more manageable 7.9″ screen, like current-generation folding phones. And if you use it as a phone,
you’ll still have that 6.4″ outer display to get you a compact and usable device.
This level of versatility puts the Mate XT in a league of its own. It wasn’t built to be larger for the sake of
being bigger; it is designed to find a way to fit the needs as best as possible within its design whether it’s
just casually scrolling or if you need to do some serious work on the go.
Is It Really Worth $2,800?
I know what you’re thinking, $2,800?! That’s a lot of money! But here’s the thing folding phones are
expensive, period. Anyhow, the prices are certainly not going to drop anytime soon, so that’s just
something we’ve learned to live with in the foldable market. We’ve already tried to make cheaper
foldables (thanks, Tecno), but those raise questions on durability and longevity.
So, in essence, if I’m paying to have a foldable, the question becomes: Am I really getting value for that
money?
With the Mate XT, I think it’s a yes. Unlike any of the other foldables, which are still trying to figure out
how to make the most of the extra screen space, Mate XT feels like a device that offers real value. It isn’t
just a phone that opens up slightly larger, it’s a whole new class of device that genuinely feels like it is
worth the premium.
And consider this, if you are already willing to pay over $2,000 for a flagship version of a smartphone
and a tablet, why not just get one that combines two experiences perfectly? With the Mate XT, you finally
can, without having to make a compromise.
Where is Samsung in this Tri-Fold Fold?
I’m sure Samsung is paying attention. With all these rumors that are coming and going regarding a tri-fold
by Samsung, I’m fairly confident it’s going to happen. They hate losing, and I think that is doubled in
foldable’s new space that they discovered.
When they do unveil it (not if), I’ll be expecting it to be a further consumer-friendly iteration of the
Mate XT, priced similarly but more focused on durability and maybe a little trickery as a US market
special. Samsung brings foldables to the masses; if they can make the tri-fold accessible and functional,
that could be the catalyst to truly put foldables into mainstream categories.
The Fold of Tomorrow!
Foldables haven’t exactly stormed the world yet, but this is no secret. I’ve seen maybe one or two persons
out in the wild using a folding phone-and that too was a couple of enthusiastic tech heads like myself.
Most people still think that foldables are nice but not worth the hassle or cost. That’s something which
could change with the Mate XT and beyond.
The Huawei Mate XT brings new things—value, functionality, and a wow factor that the bi-fold devices
haven’t quite managed to achieve. It’s not about being different for the sake of it—it’s about delivering a
fundamentally better experience..
I’m not saying tomorrow we’re going to see people with $2,800 phones walking around. I do believe the
Mate XT and the Samsung tri-folds come out in a year or so will begin to make foldables more of a
common sight in the next two years. They’re finally offering something that starts to feel worth paying
for-and that’s the key to making foldables the next big thing.
Conclusion
In short, yes. The Huawei Mate XT proves that foldables can be much more than a technological freak. It
is a solution that brings pure innovation to the market in the form of larger screens, superior functionality,
and the level of versatility no other phone can offer.
They remain niche for now, but devices like Mate XT give a sense of where the future is: to a time when
folding phones are not the premium, geeky curiosities they once were, but serious tools carried by more
humans.
So, are you ready to fold into the future?
