The global foldable phone market appears to be heating up, with Chinese telecom giant, Huawei, confirming its Mate X successor will release next year, despite the former’s delayed launch.
Speaking to TechRadar, Huawei has confirmed its Mate X will not release in September, however, remains confident the device will debut by year end.
The follow-up device is tipped to incorporate even more screens, by replacing inactive glass panels.
The news follows the delayed release of Samsung’s first foldable phone, the Galaxy Fold, after early reviewers experienced significant technical issues following unveiling late February.
Samsung Electronics claims it has fixed the Galaxy Fold, refining pain points, with the device set to broadly release internationally in September.
Like Huawei’s Mate X, precise Australian availability is yet to be officially confirmed.
Both devices are marketed as ultra-premium handsets, pushing prices higher in a competitive flagship phone market.
The Galaxy Fold is expected to start around US$1,980 (~A$2,800), beating Huawei’s Mate X to the market given the recent delay.
The news follows the unveiling of Huawei’s home-grown operating system, HarmonyOS, which seeks to reduce the Chinese giant’s reliance on Google after the loss of its Android license.
Huawei has pledged to remain with Android in its smartphones until further notice, with HarmonyOS rolling out into new smart TVs.
The delay of the Mate X coincides with growing US-China trade tensions, and forthcoming consumer electronics tariffs.
