Produced by | Huabo Business Review

Huawei and Apple are facing off again. Not only are the two companies' product launch events both scheduled for September 10th, but what's even more interesting is that the theme of Apple's event is 'Moment of Truth', while Huawei's official Weibo post reads 'Extraordinary work, moments of brilliance', directly taking on Apple.

At present, Huawei has taken the lead in ushering in a 'moment of brilliance'.

At 12:08 pm on September 7th, Huawei's first and the world's first tri-fold phone, the Huawei Mate XT Extraordinary Master, suddenly opened reservations. Five hours after reservations opened, the number of reservations on Huawei's official store alone exceeded 1 million. By 5 pm on September 9th, the number of reservations on Huawei's official store had surpassed 3 million, and this figure does not even include reservations made on other platforms.

01

A profitable purchase

It is reported that Huawei has been laying the groundwork for tri-fold phones for years. Since 2022, Huawei has actively applied for multiple patents related to tri-fold screens, continuously exploring the possibilities of this cutting-edge technology. In February 2024, Huawei disclosed another 'folding screen device' patent, detailing an innovative tri-fold design that achieves a perfect balance between portability and large-screen experience by cleverly combining internal and external hinges.

In August of this year, a set of photos circulated online that attracted widespread attention - Yu Chengdong was personally using a suspected upcoming Huawei tri-fold phone in the cabin, with a screen size rumored to be up to 10 inches, far exceeding current market equivalents.

Some media outlets have suggested that the design of large phone screens has not only fundamentally changed the way traditional phones are used but also allows phones to rival tablets when unfolded, meeting diverse office and learning needs and becoming a highly productive tool.

However, many netizens have questioned the usability of this tri-fold phone, arguing that it combines the drawbacks of both phones and tablets, and that the price is almost on par with that of a high-end phone and tablet package combined, with little sign of cost-effectiveness.

As the first tri-fold phone, many people have expressed that the price of Huawei's first tri-fold phone is bound to be high. Zhou Shibo, an analyst at TrendForce, said in an interview with the media, "The cost is expected to be at least double due to the increased cost of screen yield loss and the use of composite hinge materials. This estimate is based on the initial mass production stage."

In fact, due to the complexity of manufacturing tri-fold products, there is widespread speculation that the price will exceed 20,000 yuan.

However, the high price has not dampened consumer enthusiasm. On the Depop app, several users have even pre-ordered the Huawei Mate XT blindly for 99,900 yuan.

More people believe that "this is hard currency, and buying it is profitable."

Meanwhile, on Xianyu, many sellers have taken the opportunity to 'hype up' prices. One seller said, "Huawei Mate XT Extraordinary Master deposit reservation, with a price increase of 10,000 yuan on top of the original price, color and memory options available, and delivery on the day of release."

"The Daily Economic News" stated that while Samsung had previously showcased tri-fold prototypes named Flex S and Flex G in 2022, Huawei will be the first manufacturer to launch a tri-fold product in terms of mass production and release timing.

Competitors are not sitting idle either, as other phone manufacturers are also accelerating their layout of tri-fold phones in addition to Huawei.

On August 29th, Tecno, a brand under Transsion, unveiled its tri-fold concept phone, the Phantom Ultimate2, showcasing the applicability of tri-fold phones in different forms and scenarios. Honor CEO Zhao Ming has claimed that Honor has completed its technology for tri-fold screens. For Honor, the timing of commercialization will be determined based on consumer demand, as tri-folding is not a technical challenge but a business decision.

02

Huawei or Apple, who do you choose?

At present, Huawei may be ushering in a new era of tri-fold phones, but what about the upcoming iPhone 16?

The Apple Fall Event is scheduled for 1 am Beijing time on September 10th, and is expected to showcase the newly designed iPhone 16 series, a thinner Apple Watch X, and AirPods Max in a variety of colors.

In recent years, Apple's incremental innovations have been criticized. However, this year is different, as Apple has already played its AI trump card early on, easily raising consumer expectations.

However, since AI became a trend, AI phones are no longer a new concept. By the end of last year, several domestic phone manufacturers had already reheated this concept. In the AI phone race, Apple seems to have arrived a bit late.

For example, the Huawei Mate 50 series demonstrated the powerful potential of AI in smartphones with its self-developed Neural Processing Unit (NPU), bringing unprecedented convenience and efficiency to users in terms of precise responses from intelligent voice assistants and AI applications in image processing. Xiaomi MIX Fold 3, the new vivo X series, and OPPO's multimodal pre-trained models have further expanded the application scenarios of AI in smartphones, with AI gradually infiltrating every corner of smartphones from portrait photography, video editing to image generation.

However, some media outlets believe that in addition to AI, some upgrades to the iPhone 16 series are still attractive to consumers. It is reported that the iPhone 16 series will be equipped with the A18 processor across the board, and the powerful performance of the A18 Pro Indicating that new heights will be reached in performance and computing power . In addition, the newly added capacitive 'shutter button' design is a boon for photography enthusiasts, further enhancing the phone's photography experience.

After reading this article, do you have a need to replace your phone? Will you choose the newly released Huawei or Apple?