HUAWEI
surprised the tech world when it introduced the first-ever triple foldable
smartphone. The product hit 3 million pre-orders ahead of its release, with
renowned tech experts all over the world going through lengths to review the
product hands-on even before its global rollout.
But
how did foldables rise to popularity, and how did the HUAWEI Mate XT | ULTIMATE
DESIGN’s ground breaking innovation contribute to the foldable’s overall
progress?
Early
Emergence: How the Foldable First Began
The
tech boom of the 2010s saw an unprecedented growth in smartphone capabilities.
Accessibility of information grew, cross-device integration was now more
possible, mobile software development became more efficient and complex, and
audio-visual entertainment experienced greater diversification.
For
a long time, these developments meant that smartphone screens had to be larger
in order to process more information with as much portability as possible. The
design trend quickly went from Motorola's DynaTAC in 1983 to IBM's touch screen
in 1994, to Samsung's 5.3-inch Galaxy Note in 2011,
to a full-screen smartphone era led by the iPhone X in 2017. Eventually, a new
era of foldables was unleashed by the HUAWEI Mate X in 2019.
At
the same time, PCs shrunk into thinner sizes, which eventually also birthed the
invention of the lightweight tablet. Within 7 years, the world witnessed a
revolution in portable devices, from Intel’s launch of groundbreaking,
lightweight laptops first in 2003 to Apple's introduction of the first iPad in
2010. HUAWEI followed suit with the HUAWEI MatePad spearheading a Tablet PC
“hybrid” in 2023, compacting a large screen and thinness within a single
device.
At
the intersection of both trends was the Foldable, a design that perfectly
balanced large-screen efficiency with portability. Leading this display
revolution was tech giant HUAWEI, which by 2010 was already leading the charge
in foldable technology production.
HUAWEI
Mate X’s launch in 2019 has since been regarded as a key milestone in the
history of foldables, taking the product from a nascent invention to a
mainstream player. With its emergence, research institutions predicted that the
compound growth rate of the foldable market at 21% from 2019 to 2022,
projecting that it would reach USD 51.1 billion by 2022.
Dawn of a New
Era: The Birth of the Trifold
While
the dual-screen foldable gained wider user adoption, HUAWEI already had new
plans up its sleeve for what was previously unthinkable – a triple-display
foldable that’s as lightweight, thin, and durable as the conventional
dual-screen foldable. According to HUAWEI’s spokespersons, the tri-fold was
conceptualized as early as five years before its launch, right when dual-screen
technology was only beginning to gain traction in the industry.
While
triple foldables were first spotted in MWC and CES in the past, none of these
prototypes became feasible enough for mass production. It wasn’t until HUAWEI’s
latest wildcard, the HUAWEI Mate XT | ULTIMATE DESIGN, that the world witnessed
the impossible.
A
perfect balance between large-screen efficiency and portability, the triple
foldable is a breakthrough in many aspects. First, it expands the possibilities
of user experience, allowing for more smartphone interaction scenarios than
ever. Secondly, it’s the first to fuse tablets, PCs, and smartphones in one,
launching a whole new species of handheld technology.
If
the Apple Vision Pro represented a doorway to spatial computing as the Tesla
Model Y symbolised a future of automotive terminals, then the tri-fold could
also be seen as a new round of display revolution for mobile terminals due to
its revolutionary folding form.
More
than just multi-tasking and immersive viewing, the tri-fold smartphone may very
well change the way users live and work forever as it represents a smoother
integration between users’ daily lives and the digital world. With single,
dual, and triple screen modes, it enables users to accomplish more at once. It
effectively makes multi-tasking an easier feat: leisure and entertainment are
now more optimised, while mobile work and productivity was boosted even
further.
Trailblazing
a New Future of Smartphones
HUAWEI’s
bold, remarkable step towards innovation has allowed the company to take the
lead in the market. According to Counterpoint research, HUAWEI dominated the
global foldable market’s rise with a recorded 257% YoY growth in Q1 2024.
Since
its entry into the market, tech brands have focused on developing their own
foldable devices to contribute to the growing innovation in this space
alongside HUAWEI. Samsung has announced plans to launch its own tri-fold
smartphone, while Apple is yet to launch its own foldable as developmental
setbacks push its release to 2027 or even 2028.
Amid
the global smartphone industry’s challenges in navigating economic cycles,
HUAWEI’s strategic vision has sparked inspiration and injected fresh energy
into a market long characterized by repetitive product iterations.
Experts predict the
emergence of HUAWEI Mate XT | ULTIMATE DESIGN could drive even more software
manufacturers to ride on this new foldable trend and create a more exciting
foldable market. As an industry lever, HUAWEI’s new tri-fold has set a new
standard for an entire smartphone ecosystem; its presence may very well
encourage healthy technological growth.
An Exemplary
Story of Audacity and Innovation
Since
the progression into the age of modern telecommunications, it is surprising
that single-screen devices have remained the standard for so long. Now
that experts and engineers have addressed the limitations of single-screen
devices and sought to enhance display interaction efficiency, the industry’s
approach to the triple foldable will be fascinating to witness.
The story behind
HUAWEI Mate XT | ULTIMATE DESIGN is a testament to the power of bold
innovation, demonstrating that envisioning something greater is the key to
unlocking the future and that even a single spark can ignite meaningful
progress.
To learn more about
the HUAWEI Mate XT | ULTIMATE DESIGN, visit Huawei’s official website or social
media accounts (Facebook | Instagram).
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