When Huawei announced the Mate XT Ultimate back in September 2024, few could have predicted the buzz it would generate—and now, as the world’s first and only trifold phone begins its international rollout, that buzz is only growing louder. With a starting price tag of €3,499 (~ $3,660), the Mate XT Ultimate is clearly aimed at tech enthusiasts who crave innovation and are ready to invest in it.

Huawei’s Mate XT Ultimate isn’t just another foldable. It’s a bold reimagining of what a smartphone can be, boasting a dual-hinge folding display that transforms the device into three distinct configurations. When closed, you have a familiar 6.4-inch panel that fits comfortably in your pocket. Unfold it fully, and you’re greeted by a sprawling 10.2-inch tablet-like display—perfect for streaming media or multitasking on the go. For those moments when a full tablet experience isn’t necessary, a partial unfold reveals a 7.9-inch screen, offering a delightful balance between compactness and functionality.

What truly sets the Mate XT Ultimate apart is its impressive engineering. Despite housing three separate panels, the phone manages to achieve a remarkable thickness of just 3.6mm at its thinnest point when open—an achievement that even challenges competitors like the upcoming Oppo Find N5, which touts itself as the “world’s thinnest” foldable in its closed state. This delicate design, however, does come with a minor learning curve: each screen segment folds in a different direction, a quirk that users will soon master with a bit of practice.

In an era where battery life is often the Achilles’ heel of high-performance smartphones, the Mate XT Ultimate makes a strong case for itself. Its robust 5,600mAh battery is designed to keep up with your busiest days, whether you’re juggling multiple apps or enjoying extended media sessions on that expansive tablet-sized screen. Plus, the flexibility of both wired and wireless charging means you can stay powered up without fuss.

Photography enthusiasts aren’t left out of the innovation race either. The Mate XT Ultimate sports a formidable rear camera array, headlined by a 50-megapixel main sensor that promises crisp, detailed images. Accompanying this are a 12-megapixel ultrawide lens and a periscope shooter—together, they provide the versatility needed for everything from sweeping landscapes to close-up details. While the camera setup is undeniably impressive, it’s balanced by one significant drawback: the persistent absence of Google apps and services.

Much like many of its recent peers, the Mate XT Ultimate operates without native support for Google’s ecosystem. Instead, Huawei has been pushing its own HarmonyOS Next, an Android-based but Google-free operating system. Although HarmonyOS Next promises a fresh, integrated experience, the Mate XT Ultimate has yet to receive an upgrade to this software—even in its home market of China. This limitation might leave some users longing for the convenience and familiarity of the Google Play Store and its associated services, but Huawei is betting on its own software ecosystem to fill that gap.

During a recent Kuala Lumpur launch event, Huawei left many questions unanswered about its international strategy. While it’s clear that the Mate XT Ultimate will debut in select markets outside of China, specifics remain shrouded in mystery. The trifold is set to enter the global stage in a single configuration—offering 16GB of RAM paired with a whopping 1TB of storage, a combination that’s sure to appeal to power users.

The Mate XT Ultimate isn’t coming to market in isolation. Alongside the phone, Huawei has unveiled a suite of complementary devices designed to build a cohesive digital ecosystem. At the same Kuala Lumpur event, the tech giant introduced the FreeArc open-ear earbuds, a Band 10 fitness tracker, and a MatePad Pro 13.2-inch tablet sporting a matte OLED display. This integrated approach suggests that Huawei is not just innovating in the smartphone space but is also positioning itself as a comprehensive lifestyle technology brand.

The Mate XT Ultimate’s launch marks an important chapter for Huawei—a company that has continually pushed the boundaries of mobile technology despite significant challenges in the global market. As the device begins to make its way into international hands, it will be interesting to see how consumers weigh its impressive features against its steep price and the absence of Google’s familiar app ecosystem.