Huawei launched the Mate XT2 in China on 7 September. It is the company’s second three-panel foldable phone and, according to Engadget, the first tri-panel foldable with a built-in privacy display. Sales began on 12 September. The launch came two days before Apple unveiled its first foldable iPhone, which gave Huawei the week’s most elaborate folding phone.

A different fold

The original Mate XT folded in a Z-shaped, accordion pattern, leaving part of the flexible screen exposed when closed. The XT2 abandons that design. Engadget describes an inward-folding mechanism with a separate cover display, while Gizmodo calls the design “wing-like”, with both outer halves folding inward. The cover screen measures 6.5 inches.

The reports differ on the size of the main screen. Engadget gives the unfolded display as 10.2 inches with 3K resolution, while Gizmodo reports 10.1 inches. Huawei’s own specification sheet would settle it, and we have not seen it.

The privacy OLED

The more interesting display story is the privacy option. Gizmodo describes a privacy-oriented OLED, available on select versions, that narrows viewing angles so people nearby cannot read the screen. Engadget notes that Samsung offers a tri-fold and a privacy display separately, while Huawei has combined the two. Neither report explains how the narrowed viewing angle is achieved in a panel that also has to fold, and that is the engineering question the display industry will care about.

Privacy screens are not new in themselves. Laptops and monitors have long used louvred films or switchable optics to narrow viewing angles. Those approaches add thickness and usually cost brightness, which makes them a poor fit for a folding stack that must stay thin and bend repeatedly. If Huawei has built the effect into the OLED itself rather than laminating a film on top, that would be the more significant engineering step, but neither report says which approach it took.

Price and availability

Prices start at 19,999 yuan (about $2,980) with 16GB of memory and 256GB of storage, rising to 24,999 yuan (about $3,725) for the privacy display with 1TB, according to both outlets. Engadget lists a 2TB collector’s edition at 29,999 yuan. The phone runs HarmonyOS on Huawei’s Kirin 9050 Pro processor. Engadget notes it is not available in the US because of national security restrictions.

Those prices sit well above the $1,999 starting price Apple announced two days later for iPhone Duo, and they underline how far multi-fold phones remain from the mainstream. Gizmodo positions the XT2 against iPhone Duo and Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8.

What we’re watching

  • Teardowns showing how the privacy layer is integrated into a foldable OLED stack.
  • Crease and fold-durability results for the new inward-folding hinge.
  • Whether Samsung responds by combining its own tri-fold and privacy display in one device.