While those of us in North America might be biding our time until Samsung’s long-promised tri-foldable eventually arrives on store shelves — apparently later this year, though not at next week’s Galaxy event — Huawei is prepping to launch a second-gen version of the Mate XT. Thanks to a social media tease, we’re finally getting our first real look at it.
Huawei published a teaser for the Mate XTs ahead of next week’s event, simultaneously opening up pre-order registrations for its Chinese customer base. As the name might suggest, this isn’t a complete reinvention of last year’s tri-fold, with the XTs keeping the same core design language of its predecessor. The ridged frame, the octagon-shaped camera module, the map-style folding structure — none of it is new. What’s fresh for this year, of course, is the color, with this particular teaser showcasing the device in a white-and-gold colorway.
While it’s not featured in this post, Huawei is also seemingly adding stylus support to the Mate XTs this year, based on a recent video teaser leading up to the event. Considering the hot water Samsung found itself in last month over the loss of S Pen support on the Fold 7, it’s an impressive feat. Huawei also has various spec changes coming down the pike; Digital Chat Station recently leaked a swap to a Kirin 9020-series processor with satellite support. The tipster also suggested purple as the other main new color this year, though we have yet to see what that looks like.
Huawei will be holding an event on September 4th in China to announce the Mate XTs, officially lapping Samsung in the race to bring tri-fold smartphones to other parts of the world. Galaxy fans shouldn’t fret, though; Samsung shouldn’t be too far behind, with the company recently confirming that its own device — potentially called the Galaxy Z Trifold — would arrive sometime before the end of the year.
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Will Sattelberg is a writer and podcaster at 9to5Google.
You can reach out to Will at will@9to5mac.com, or find him on Twitter @will_sattelberg
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