Huawei launches $2,800 trifold phone hours after Apple debuts iPhone 16

BEIJING — Chinese smartphone company Huawei said Tuesday its trifold smartphone will start at the equivalent of more than $2,800.

The phone began pre-orders on Saturday and is set to begin in-store sales on Sept. 20. That’s the same day Apple’s new iPhone 16 series is due to launch in stores, including in China.

On Monday stateside, Apple announced its iPhone 16 Pro Max will start at $1,199, and the iPhone 16 at $799. Preorders are set to begin Friday, and in-store sales on Sept. 20.

The first set of Apple Intelligence AI features will be available in a free software update next month, the company said. iPhone 16 users as well as those of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max can use the new functions.

Huawei’s Mate XT also comes with artificial intelligence features, such as text translation and cloud-based content generation, according to Tuesday’s presentation.

“We have spent five years striving for this,” said Richard Yu, Huawei’s executive director and chairman of the board of directors of the consumer business group. That’s according to a CNBC translation of the Mandarin.

The Mate XT comes in red and black, in three storage options with prices ranging from 19,999 yuan ($2,809) to 23,999 yuan ($3,371). The device is 3.6 millimeters thick when unfolded, with a 10.2-inch screen.

The phone can display content on a single, double or triple-screen. Its battery is 1.9 millimeters thick. The Mate XT also works with a foldable keyboard.

More than 3.5 million people had preordered Huawei’s trifold Mate XT smartphone as of midday Tuesday, according to the company’s website. The number of preorders rose above 4 million after the launch event.

The Chinese company has sought to make a comeback in the smartphone industry, which was hard hit after the U.S. slapped sanctions on the company in 2019. The U.S. in October 2022 imposed broader restrictions on American sales of advanced chips to Chinese businesses.

But in late August 2023, the Chinese telecommunications giant quietly released its Mate 60 Pro, which analysis by TechInsights showed had a chip manufactured using a 7-nanometer process by Chinese chipmaker SMIC.

Yu on Tuesday noted how the company did not give up despite four rounds of sanctions.

Huawei kicked off Tuesday’s launch event by discussing Mate XT details and price. That contrasted with its product launch last year that didn’t reveal any details about its Mate 60 Pro phone or reported advanced chip breakthrough during a high-profile launch event.

The news that Huawei achieved such advanced technology helped bolster its sales in China, despite lackluster consumer spending overall.

Apple fell out of the list of top five smartphone vendors in China in the second quarter of this year, according to Canalys. It was the first time that domestic players held all five spots, the firm said.

Huawei ranked fourth by market share with 10.6 million smartphones shipped, according to Canalys.

The firm only shared shipments for the top five vendors. Apple shipped 10 million phones in the first quarter.

Huawei already sells folding and flip phones, as do its Chinese competitors. Apple has yet to expand into those categories.

— CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal and Hayden Field contributed to this report.