Huawei has announced the Mate XT2, claiming the title of the world's first foldable smartphone featuring a built-in privacy display. Revealed during a hardware event on September 7, the device will officially go on sale starting September 12.
The release represents Huawei's latest effort to maintain control over the foldable smartphone market. Despite its striking purple colorway, the device is likely to remain exclusive to China and not see a release in other markets.
Design and build
Unlike its 2024 predecessor, which used a portion of the main display as an outer screen when closed, the Mate XT2 uses a new hinge mechanism that folds its displays inwards. This inward-facing design is expected to better protect the primary screen compared to previous iterations. When folded up, the device functions with a standard 6.5-inch display.
Fully open, it expands into a 10.2-inch screen boasting a 3K resolution. This tri-fold design mirrors the approach of Samsung's Galaxy Z TriFold, which also launched with a 10-inch inner display hidden beneath a normal smartphone screen.
However, the Mate XT2 does not quite match the 16:10 aspect ratio of Huawei's ultrawide Pura X foldable released last year.
Specs and performance
Internally, Huawei upgraded the Mate XT2 with a new Kirin 9050 Pro chip. This processor promises a 42 percent performance increase compared to the original Mate XT. The device runs entirely on Huawei's in-house operating system, HarmonyOS.
The smartphone packs four cameras in total. The rear array features a 50-megapixel main camera, a 40-megapixel ultra-wide lens, and a 50-megapixel periscope camera capable of 3.5x optical zoom. An eight-megapixel selfie camera sits on the interior display to complete the hardware setup.
Privacy display technology
The Mate XT2 implements optional display technology similar to the Privacy Display prominently featured on Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra. When active, this feature adjusts the screen's pixels so light is only emitted to the person directly viewing the display. This ensures that bystanders cannot clearly see what is showing on the screen.
Price and value
The Huawei Mate XT2 comes with a steep starting price of 19,999 yuan, or approximately $2,980 to $3,000 USD. All models of the tri-folding device include 16GB of memory.
To get the highly touted privacy display feature, buyers must purchase the variant with 1TB of storage. This premium model will cost at least 24,999 yuan, or roughly $3,725 USD.