Huawei and Xiaomi show off new folding phones to fight Apple’s expected iPhone Ultra launch in China.
Huawei and Xiaomi have introduced their latest folding mobile phones to the global market. The official public release of these new devices happened on Monday, September 7, 2026.
Tech lovers across the globe are watching closely because these two companies released their new devices just two days before Apple’s planned show, where the company is expected to present its first folding phone, the iPhone Ultra.
The product launch took place in China, where these domestic technology firms are fighting hard to win the biggest share of phone buyers.
Market numbers show that Huawei leads the local Chinese market with over 22% of phone sales, followed by Apple and Xiaomi.
By introducing their newest bending screens right inside China, these companies want to make sure local phone buyers stay loyal to their brands before American tech products hit local store shelves.
The reason why these technology giants are rushing to launch these devices now is to capture buyers looking for double and triple bending screens before Apple enters the folding market.
Huawei introduced its new Mate XT2, which is a rare tri-fold phone that bends twice to open into a big tablet sized screen using its custom Kirin 9050 Pro computer chip.
At the same time, Xiaomi released its Xiaomi 18 Fold device, which folds into a compact passport shape when closed and runs on a fast artificial intelligence processor to handle three phone apps together on one screen.
Building these advanced screens requires expensive parts, which makes the final selling prices quite high for regular buyers.
Huawei’s double bending phone costs between $2,980 and $3,725, while Xiaomi’s folding device sells between $1,540 and $2,100.
Despite high prices, both companies built these new devices to be lighter, thinner, and stronger against water damage so that users can replace both their traditional laptops and tablets with just one pocket device.
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Explaining the financial pressure behind building these complex bending screens, Huawei Executive Director Richard Yu was quoted as stating, “Pricing right now is a real challenge, because memory costs have risen sharply. We adopted a lot of new technology, and the cost pressure has been enormous.”
Highlighting how their new passport-shaped folding phone beats traditional flat smartphones, Xiaomi Chief Executive Officer Lei Jun noted that the device weighs just 219 grams and stated that its speed performance “outperforms Apple’s A19 Pro in responsiveness.”
This major battle between global phone makers brings exciting benefits to everyday phone users and technology fans across Africa and around the world.
As these major technology brands continue to fight for customers, competition will force companies to build stronger folding screens, faster computer processors, and longer lasting batteries that make daily communication and business work easier for everyone.
