Is the triple-foldable screen a "stock trading magic weapon"? Huawei has once again attracted a group of middle-aged men.
Friends, Huawei is still the same Huawei.
On September 4th, during Huawei's three - hour press conference, they unveiled five new products in quick succession: Mate XTs, Mate TV/Pro, MatePad Mini, and FreeBuds 7i.
However, the real game - changer is the Kirin chip codenamed "9020". It's back and has been integrated into the second mass - produced triple - fold phone, the Mate XTs.
Image source: IT Home
Yu Chengdong, Executive Director of Huawei and Chairman of the Consumer Business Group, stood on the stage, smiled slightly, and made a classic humblebrag: "We created the world's first triple - fold phone a year ago, and to this day, it's still the only one. The only one that can surpass Huawei is Huawei itself."
Even more impressively, Huawei updated the logo of its "Ultimate Master" brand.
Then, at the press conference, brand ambassador Andy Lau appeared.
Image source: Huawei Mate XTs Press Conference
As soon as Andy Lau made his appearance, the live - stream comments went wild. "It's a powerful combination!", "Is the endorsement fee even higher now?", "With Andy Lau on board, can the price still be reasonable?"
Last year, Huawei and Apple held their press conferences on the same day, which was seen as a direct confrontation. This year, Huawei held its conference a week earlier, taking the initiative. This is like a master - plan in the HarmonyOS ecosystem and a cyber - punk move with the Kirin chip.
Alright, next, let's take a detailed look at the features of these five new Huawei products.
Ultimate Master Mate XTs: More Features, Same Price
Undoubtedly, the star of this year's press conference is the Huawei Mate XTs. As the brand's second mass - produced triple - fold phone, it's not only an upgraded version of the Mate XT after nearly a year but also shows significant adjustments in terms of component selection and pricing strategy.
Compared with the starting price of the Mate XT Ultimate Master last year, which ranged from 19,999 yuan to 23,999 yuan, the price of the Mate XTs has been reduced by 2,000 yuan across all models. The specific pricing is as follows: the 16GB + 256GB version is 17,999 yuan, the 16GB + 512GB version is 19,999 yuan, and the 16GB + 1TB version is 21,999 yuan.
Image source: Huawei Mate XTs Press Conference
Although the price is still relatively high, it shows Huawei's efforts in promoting triple - fold products to a wider market.
From the naming, it's easy to tell that the Mate XTs is a slightly upgraded version of its predecessor. In terms of appearance, two new color options, pure white and purple, have been added, while the black and red colors are retained. The back of the phone still uses the "Stellar Ring" design language, but the material has been upgraded to a combination of ceramic and titanium alloy. The weight of the whole phone is controlled at 235g, which is even lighter than many flagship straight - screen phones.
In terms of the screen, when fully unfolded, it has a 10.2 - inch large flexible screen. When half - unfolded, it's 7.9 inches, and when folded, it takes the form of a 6.4 - inch regular phone.
Image source: Huawei Mate XTs Press Conference
The durability has been significantly improved. The hinge part uses aerospace - grade special steel with a strength of 2400 MPa. Combined with an eight - layer buffer structure, the phone's impact resistance has been increased by 35%.
One of the most anticipated upgrades is the processor. Huawei officially announced the Kirin 9020 chip at the press conference. This is the first new flagship SoC publicly revealed in four years since the Kirin 9000 in 2019. According to official data, the Kirin 9020 uses an enhanced 5nm process. Combined with the HarmonyOS 5.1 system, its overall performance has been improved by 36% compared to the previous generation.
Image source: Huawei Mate XTs Press Conference
The phone is equipped with a 10.2 - inch OLED screen from BOE, with a resolution of 2232×3184. It supports LTPO technology, a peak brightness of 1800 nits, and 1440Hz high - frequency PWM dimming, but the refresh rate remains at 90Hz.
The imaging system consists of a 40 - megapixel ultra - wide - angle lens, a 50 - megapixel super - variable - aperture main camera, a 1.5 - megapixel multi - spectral primary - color camera, and a 12 - megapixel periscope telephoto lens, providing a comprehensive upgrade in the photography experience.
In terms of battery life, it has a 5600mAh silicon - carbon anode battery, supporting 66W wired fast charging, 50W wireless fast charging, and 7.5W wireless reverse charging. It also has features such as Lingxi Communication, Tiantong satellite communication, and earthquake early - warning.
Yu Chengdong, Chairman of Huawei's Consumer Business Group, specifically mentioned at the press conference that the triple - fold screen is like a "stock - trading magic tool". The large screen is very suitable for checking stock market trends. He even wished users "make money in the stock market". This application scenario has been further expanded. Huawei has pre - installed professional software such as the PC version of East Money, Wondershare MindMaster, and WIND Financial for the first time. Combined with the free multi - window and panoramic multi - window modes, it provides an efficient mobile office and stock - watching experience.
Image source: Fengchao Technology
The accessories have also been comprehensively upgraded. The new M - Pen3 stylus supports magnetic storage and has functions such as global annotation, split - screen extraction, and air - gesture presentation. It is sold separately for 599 yuan. The pen tip has a special buffer design for the foldable screen material to avoid scratching the screen.
There is also a foldable keyboard set, which combines the keyboard and the touchpad. Users can directly slide on the keyboard surface for operation. There is also a special rotating stand protective case, which is also priced at 599 yuan.
Image source: PChome Technology
The new phone will be officially available for sale on September 12th. With its comprehensive upgrades and more reasonable price, it is expected to attract a large number of high - end users and foldable - screen enthusiasts.
MatePad Mini: Tablet or Phone?
Interestingly, besides the phone, Huawei also introduced a surprising product - the MatePad Mini.
I'm actually more interested in the MatePad Mini. After all, the last time Huawei launched a small - sized tablet was the M6 High - Performance Edition in 2019. This time, the MatePad Mini was introduced by He Gang with the slogan "Small tablet, big phone", clearly targeting portable productivity.
Image source: Huawei Mate XTs Press Conference
In terms of price, there are multiple versions to choose from: the 12 + 256GB version is 3999 yuan; the 12 + 512GB version is 4499 yuan; the 12 + 512GB soft - light version is 4999 yuan; the 12 + 256GB reading version is 3299 yuan; the 12 + 256GB reading version with a soft - light screen is 3799 yuan; the 16 + 512GB collector's edition (including a soft - light screen, a stylus, and a leather case) is 5999 yuan; the 16 + 1TB collector's edition (including a soft - light screen, a stylus, and a leather case) is 6499 yuan.
I have to say that Huawei has blurred the line between "phones" and "tablets" this time.
Image source: PChome Technology
First of all, the MatePad Mini features an extremely lightweight and thin design. The whole device weighs only 255g and is as thin as 5.1mm, making it the lightest tablet product in the world with a screen size of over 8 inches. With a bezel as narrow as 2.99mm, the screen - to - body ratio reaches 92%, providing an immersive visual experience.
Image source: Zhongguancun Online
In terms of color options, the new device offers three regular colors: spruce green, obsidian black, and snow - white, as well as a collector's edition in cosmic red.
The MatePad Mini is equipped with an 8.8 - inch flexible OLED cloud - clear soft - light screen instead of the currently mainstream LCD. It has a 2.5K resolution, 343 PPI, a 16:10 aspect ratio, supports a peak brightness of 1800 nits, and a 120Hz high - refresh rate. There are still two versions available: the regular version and the soft - light screen version.
Image source: PChome Technology
Although the brightness of this screen may not be the best for a phone, it performs excellently among tablets. The 343 PPI Real RGB ultra - high pixel density ensures clear and sharp display, and the high screen - to - body ratio due to the extremely narrow bezel also significantly enhances the visual experience. Whether watching videos or reading, the MatePad Mini can provide a good experience.
Hardware - wise, it is powered by the Kirin 9010 processor, comes with 12GB of RAM, and supports a maximum storage capacity of 512GB.
In terms of the imaging system, it has a 32 - megapixel front - facing camera, a 50 - megapixel main rear camera, and an 8 - megapixel ultra - wide - angle macro rear camera. It comes pre - installed with the HarmonyOS 5.1 system and supports deep integration with various Huawei devices such as phones, PCs, headphones, and smartwatches, enabling cross - device resource sharing.
The support for the stylus has also greatly enhanced the productivity of the MatePad Mini. The newly upgraded M - Pencil Pro has an interactive button at the end. A single click can quickly activate the voice - to - text function, and a double - click can wake up the Xiaoyi voice assistant with one tap.
Image source: Zhongguancun Online
Combined with a series of Huawei's AI functions, such as AI key - point extraction, Xiaoyi problem - solving, borderless note - taking, and featuring unique applications like AI eye - movement page - turning, note - taking while reading, question - asking while reading, and "naturally good at drawing", it redefines the possible operations on a tablet.
One of the biggest highlights of this product is its communication ability. All models support inserting a SIM card, allowing users to make calls and use mobile data. It also supports Lingxi Communication and two - way Beidou satellite messaging, a feature that many mid - to - high - end phones don't have yet.