Huawei’s Tri-Fold Smartphone Remains Hard to Find Amidst Ongoing Foldable屏展开阅读
3 April 2025 · Uncategorized ·
Source: · https://www.cnr.cn/tech/techxp/20241012/t20241012_526937127.shtml
Beijing, October 12 (Reporter Niu Guyue) - More than a month after launching its first tri-fold smartphone, the HUAWEI Mate XT Masterpiece Edition remains in high demand. Reporters learned that consumers must purchase through official online stores or by registering at physical retail outlets to have any chance of acquiring one.
The enthusiasm surrounding Huawei's new phone reflects growing market acceptance and continuous advancements in foldable screen technology from mobile manufacturers. Besides Huawei, other brands such as Xiaomi, Honor, and TCL are also developing related technologies. Several companies within the supply chain for folding screens express optimism about their future prospects.
According to a research report by Guojin Securities, with components transitioning towards standardization and modular manufacturing processes, product assembly will become more streamlined, improving efficiency and yield rates while reducing costs through economies of scale. This is expected to accelerate industry penetration further.
At an authorized store in Beijing's Huizhu Center when asked about purchasing the HUAWEI Mate XT Masterpiece Edition, staff informed that units were unavailable due to high demand; they only accept purchase intent registrations without guaranteeing delivery times for orders placed. On Huawei’s Tmall flagship store page, customer service stated that while currently out of stock, restocking would occur periodically.
In recent years, domestic smartphone manufacturers have been focusing heavily on foldable screen technology, expanding their product lines accordingly. Over the past year alone, brands like Honor, Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo launched various folding models including HUAWEI Pocket 2, vivo X Fold3, OPPO Find N, Magic V3 & Vs3 from Honor, as well as MIX Fold4 by Xiaomi.
According to IDC data for Q3 of this year through the second quarter next year, China's foldable smartphone market is expected to see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) ranging between 83% and 150%, with an estimated total shipment volume reaching approximately ten million units in 2024. By 2028, this figure could exceed seventeen million.
In addition to the already released foldable phones, major manufacturers are also actively developing patents for new technologies related to folding screens. For instance, Honor recently filed a patent application with China's National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) detailing its vision of cross-hinge designs that can divide devices into four screen sections through combinations of existing vertical and horizontal folds.
Similarly, Xiaomi has been granted an electronic device invention patent by CNIPA on October 1st. This new design allows for disassembly operations while maintaining a large display area with simple structure and low manufacturing costs according to the company's description in its application documents.
As technology matures and innovations continue, foldable phones are gaining more consumer attention. According to iResearch Consulting Group’s report '2024 China Foldable Phone Market & Consumer Trend Research Report', from 2022 through 2024, shipments of these devices will maintain a high growth rate with current market recognition reaching relatively high levels; nearly eighty percent of consumers stated they would continue following developments in this field.
With the rising popularity of foldables, suppliers along their supply chains such as screens and hinges are also receiving increased attention. Recently, companies like Jingyan Technology, Tonglian Precision, Hongxin Electronics, Visionox have been visited by institutional investors who expressed optimism about future prospects. Analysts believe that improvements to hardware technology from terminal manufacturers combined with software system optimization will enhance user experience while reducing costs.
According to data released by CINNO Research in Q2 2024, China's foldable smartphone sales reached two million six hundred thousand units, marking a year-on-year increase of one hundred and twenty-five percent. The rapid development of these devices is driving advancements across the flexible OLED panel industry chain including screen covers and hinges.
In addition to flexible screens, hinge technology plays an essential role in addressing creasing issues while ensuring reliability for foldable form factors. When launching its global first tri-fold smartphone HUAWEI Mate XT Masterpiece Edition earlier this year, Huawei emphasized the importance of their Tian Gong Hinge System design which allows smooth folding and unfolding.
Analysts predict that by 2027, the market size for global foldable phone hinges could reach two hundred fifty-seven billion yuan. Meanwhile, ultra-thin glass (UTG) is gradually becoming a mainstream cover material in this sector; according to CINNO Research data from last year, domestic shipments of UTGs used on folding phones reached one million one hundred thousand units and are expected to grow at sixty-five percent compound annual growth rate until reaching nearly five million by 2025.
Analysts believe that with improvements in yield rates alongside price reductions, the overall penetration rate for foldable smartphones is likely to increase rapidly.
The enthusiasm surrounding Huawei's new phone reflects growing market acceptance and continuous advancements in foldable screen technology from mobile manufacturers. Besides Huawei, other brands such as Xiaomi, Honor, and TCL are also developing related technologies. Several companies within the supply chain for folding screens express optimism about their future prospects.
According to a research report by Guojin Securities, with components transitioning towards standardization and modular manufacturing processes, product assembly will become more streamlined, improving efficiency and yield rates while reducing costs through economies of scale. This is expected to accelerate industry penetration further.
At an authorized store in Beijing's Huizhu Center when asked about purchasing the HUAWEI Mate XT Masterpiece Edition, staff informed that units were unavailable due to high demand; they only accept purchase intent registrations without guaranteeing delivery times for orders placed. On Huawei’s Tmall flagship store page, customer service stated that while currently out of stock, restocking would occur periodically.
In recent years, domestic smartphone manufacturers have been focusing heavily on foldable screen technology, expanding their product lines accordingly. Over the past year alone, brands like Honor, Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo launched various folding models including HUAWEI Pocket 2, vivo X Fold3, OPPO Find N, Magic V3 & Vs3 from Honor, as well as MIX Fold4 by Xiaomi.
According to IDC data for Q3 of this year through the second quarter next year, China's foldable smartphone market is expected to see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) ranging between 83% and 150%, with an estimated total shipment volume reaching approximately ten million units in 2024. By 2028, this figure could exceed seventeen million.
In addition to the already released foldable phones, major manufacturers are also actively developing patents for new technologies related to folding screens. For instance, Honor recently filed a patent application with China's National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) detailing its vision of cross-hinge designs that can divide devices into four screen sections through combinations of existing vertical and horizontal folds.
Similarly, Xiaomi has been granted an electronic device invention patent by CNIPA on October 1st. This new design allows for disassembly operations while maintaining a large display area with simple structure and low manufacturing costs according to the company's description in its application documents.
As technology matures and innovations continue, foldable phones are gaining more consumer attention. According to iResearch Consulting Group’s report '2024 China Foldable Phone Market & Consumer Trend Research Report', from 2022 through 2024, shipments of these devices will maintain a high growth rate with current market recognition reaching relatively high levels; nearly eighty percent of consumers stated they would continue following developments in this field.
With the rising popularity of foldables, suppliers along their supply chains such as screens and hinges are also receiving increased attention. Recently, companies like Jingyan Technology, Tonglian Precision, Hongxin Electronics, Visionox have been visited by institutional investors who expressed optimism about future prospects. Analysts believe that improvements to hardware technology from terminal manufacturers combined with software system optimization will enhance user experience while reducing costs.
According to data released by CINNO Research in Q2 2024, China's foldable smartphone sales reached two million six hundred thousand units, marking a year-on-year increase of one hundred and twenty-five percent. The rapid development of these devices is driving advancements across the flexible OLED panel industry chain including screen covers and hinges.
In addition to flexible screens, hinge technology plays an essential role in addressing creasing issues while ensuring reliability for foldable form factors. When launching its global first tri-fold smartphone HUAWEI Mate XT Masterpiece Edition earlier this year, Huawei emphasized the importance of their Tian Gong Hinge System design which allows smooth folding and unfolding.
Analysts predict that by 2027, the market size for global foldable phone hinges could reach two hundred fifty-seven billion yuan. Meanwhile, ultra-thin glass (UTG) is gradually becoming a mainstream cover material in this sector; according to CINNO Research data from last year, domestic shipments of UTGs used on folding phones reached one million one hundred thousand units and are expected to grow at sixty-five percent compound annual growth rate until reaching nearly five million by 2025.
Analysts believe that with improvements in yield rates alongside price reductions, the overall penetration rate for foldable smartphones is likely to increase rapidly.