Search Results for: foldable

Less than 12 hours after Apple’s fall product launch, Huawei held its own event on the other side of the Pacific. As expected, they unveiled the world’s first tri-fold phone, the Mate XT. Its release date is also set to coincide with Apple’s, launching on September 20. As per a report from CNBC, after the launch event, the number of Mate XT pre-orders has already exceeded 4 million.

According to a report from Economic Daily News citing Richard Yu, Chairman of Huawei Consumer Business Group, the biggest breakthrough in Huawei’s tri-fold phone is its solution to screen and hinge technology, which enables both inward and outward folding simultaneously. This design enhances the screen’s resistance impact.

The phone’s thickness is only 0.36 cm, and the battery, at 0.19 cm, is considered the thinnest in the world. Meanwhile, the new model is said to support multiple AI applications, and offers satellite communication.

Huawei revealed that the price of the Mate XT ranges from CNY 19,999 to CNY 23,999, aligning with market expectations. Sources cited by Economic Daily News are optimistic about the potential of Huawei’s tri-fold phone, and Taiwanese company Fositek will benefit as the exclusive supplier of hinges, one of the most critical bearing components, for the Mate XT.

Yu emphasized that the production cost of this tri-fold device is extremely high, though it may decrease as manufacturing yield rates improve. He highlighted three key breakthroughs with this new phone: the tri-fold design, cutting-edge technology, and its alignment with future trends.

The timing of Huawei’s product launch coincided with Apple’s fall event, and the announcement of the tri-fold device drew attention once again as its release date, like Apple’s iPhone 16 series, is set for September 20. Huawei also chose the specific time of 10:08 AM to start sales.

Richard Yu introduced the Mate XT as the world’s first mass-produced tri-fold smartphone, featuring a 10.2-inch screen. The product took the R&D team five years to develop and is described as bringing sci-fi into reality.

Reportedly, it supports multiple uses, allowing users to switch between single, double, and triple fold for large-screen viewing. Along with the phone, Huawei also launched a foldable touch keyboard, embodying the concept of putting both a computer and a keyboard in your pocket.

Read more

• [News] Apple Officially Debuts iPhone 16 with AI Features, but Yet to Announce an AI partner in China
• [News] Huawei Expected to Unveil Mate70 and Foldable Device Following Apple’s iPhone 16 Release

(Photo credit: Huawei)

On August 13, Google officially released the Pixel 9 series of smartphones, featuring Google’s latest self-developed Tensor G4 processor and advanced AI function supported by Gemini AI.

Google Pixel 9 series includes three full-screen smartphones: Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL, as well as a foldable smartphone, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

Both Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro are equipped with 6.3-inch screens, with the Pixel 9 Pro using a better LTPO screen; Pixel 9 Pro XL is fitted with a 6.8-inch screen; Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s internal screen size increased from 7.6 inches to 8 inches, and the external display screen size from 5.8 inches to 6.3 inches.

The base memory capacity of the new phones is up to 12GB, with the two Pro models and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold offering 16GB of memory.

It is learned that the Tensor G4 adopted in Google’s new phones is based on Samsung’s 4nm process (4LPP+), boasting a 3.1GHz Arm Cortex-X4 super core, three 2.6GHz Arm Cortex-A720 large cores, and four 1.92GHz Arm Cortex-A520 small cores.

Moreover, Tensor G4 is equipped with the new Samsung Exynos Modem 5400 baseband chip (Outside the processor), supporting 4G/5G, WiFi-7, Bluetooth 5.x, and satellite connectivity. The memory used is LPDDR5X, and media decoding supports formats such as H.264, H.265, VP9, and AV1.

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• [News] Google’s Tensor G5 Reportedly Manufactured with TSMC’s 3nm and InFO-POP Packaging
• [News] Google Reportedly Shifts Orders from Samsung to TSMC for Its Upcoming Tensor G5 in the Pixel 10 Series

(Photo credit: Google)

Huawei’s Consumer Business CEO, Richard Yu, has publicly revealed plans for Huawei’s next-generation tri-folding phone for the first time. He stated that this product, widely considered challenging to achieve in the industry, is finally about to be launched after five years of development.

According to a report from the Chinese technology website ” Chinaz,” the tri-folding phone features an innovative inside-out folding mechanism and a dual-hinge design, with the screen size expected to reach approximately 10 inches.

Richard Yu pointed out that this new design will not only revolutionize the way phones are used but also broaden their use cases. When fully unfolded, the phone can rival a tablet, meeting basic office needs such as text and spreadsheet processing.

The latest industry news cited by the report further suggests that Huawei’s tri-folding phone will be unveiled in September, set to compete with Apple’s iPhone 16 series. Although the price of Huawei’s tri-folding phone is expected to be very high, potentially starting at nearly CNY 20,000, significantly surpassing the price of an iPhone, it showcases Huawei’s top-tier domestic technology and innovation in China.

However, despite the relatively noticeable growth in shipment volumes, the base number of foldable phones is very low, and the overall market size remains small.

Compared to the traditional smartphone market, which easily reaches sales volumes of over one billion units, TrendForce previously estimated that the shipments of foldable phones are expected to reach 17.8 million units in 2024, making up only 1.5% of the smartphone market. Despite high repair rates and costs, market penetration is projected to climb to 4.8% by 2028.

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• [News] Apple Reportedly Joins the Foldable Phone Market, Setting Stage for Three-Way Competition
• [News] Huawei Issues Rush Orders for Crucial Components, Focusing on CIS for Foldable Phones

(Photo credit: Huawei)

On July 8, Xiaomi Chairman Lei Jun announced on Weibo that the new generation Xiaomi smartphone smart factory in Changping, Beijing, has officially started operations. According to a report from Economic Daily News, the factory has a total investment of CNY 2.4 billion (roughly USD 330 million) and a construction area of 81,000 square meters, with an annual production capacity of 10 million flagship smartphones. Lei Jun also revealed that the upcoming Xiaomi MIX Fold 4/Flip foldable phones, set to be released this month, will be manufactured at this facility.

This year, Xiaomi has completed two smart factories: the Changping smartphone factory and the Yizhuang automobile factory.

In fact, information about Xiaomi’s new folding phone, the MIX Fold 4, has recently been leaked on Chinese internet platforms. Digital bloggers previously revealed that this phone is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip.

Reportedly,  this factory is said to be Xiaomi’s first large-scale self-owned smartphone factory. Its launch marks a crucial milestone in Xiaomi’s smart manufacturing journey.

According to the report, the factory boasts a 96.8% self-developed packaging equipment rate, 100% self-developed factory software rate, and holds over 500 patents. It focuses on producing flagship smartphones and operates 24/7, with a daily production capacity of up to 30,000 smartphones.

For the smartphone production in the first quarter of 2024, TrendForce reports that the global top six manufacturers by production market share were Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi, OPPO, Transsion, and Vivo. Together, these companies accounted for nearly 80% of the market share.

Xiaomi (including Xiaomi, Redmi, and Poco) has moved past last year’s high inventory issues, achieving a total production of 41.1 million units in the first quarter and ranking third globally in market share.

Xiaomi Group Partner and President Lu Weibing revealed that the Changping factory is Xiaomi’s first truly smart factory. Key verifications for the Xiaomi 14 Gulf Blue Limited Edition and the craftsmanship of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra were all carried out here.

On the other hand, per another report from Securities Times, Xiaomi’s automobile factory in Yizhuang, Beijing, started dual-shift production in June, with monthly deliveries exceeding 10,000 vehicles.

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• [News] MediaTek and Xiaomi Opened a Joint Lab, the First Product with Stellar Performance Unveiled
• [News] China’s Xiaomi and Unisoc Claim Domestic 4nm Mobile Processors Coming Soon

(Photo credit: Xiaomi)

According to a report from South Korean media outlet The Financial News, MediaTek, Taiwan’s largest smartphone IC designer, has the opportunity to enter Samsung’s Galaxy S25 supply chain as one of the main chip suppliers for the next generation flagship smartphone. Samsung’s S series smartphones have traditionally adopted a “dual-track” strategy, using both in-house Exynos chips and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon. MediaTek, on the other hand, has declined to comment on this matter.

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S10 is said to be equipped with MediaTek’s Dimensity 9300+ application processor, marking the first instance of MediaTek’s AP being adopted by Samsung’s flagship tablet, according to a report by the Korean media outlet The Chosun Daily.

The latest report by the Financial News further highlights that MediaTek’s APs have primarily been used in Samsung’s mid-to-low-end smartphones. The decision to use MediaTek’s AP in the Galaxy Tab S10 series, instead of Qualcomm’s or Samsung’s own APs, is a significant shift for Samsung.

The report indicates that Samsung’s Galaxy S25 smartphones will not only use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chips and Samsung’s own Exynos 2500 chips but may also use MediaTek’s Dimensity chips in some regions. It is speculated that the chip in discussion is the yet-to-be-announced Dimensity 9400. If true, the S25 could be available in versions with Exynos 2500, Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, and Dimensity 9400 chips.

The report cites sources, suggesting that this rumor is not entirely without merit, as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip is expected to be 30% more expensive than its predecessor. Currently, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip is rumored to cost around $190-200 per unit, while the 8 Gen 4 could be priced at $260. Samsung’s consideration of incorporating MediaTek chips, or at least using this possibility as leverage in price negotiations with Qualcomm, is plausible.

Qualcomm has been releasing new flagship mobile chips annually and designing custom versions for Samsung’s high-end phones. For instance, the current Samsung S24 series, including the S24 Ultra and some regional versions of the S24 Plus and S24, use Qualcomm’s tailored Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, designed specifically for Galaxy phones and featuring advanced AI capabilities.

It is worth noting that there is a close collaborative relationship between Samsung and Qualcomm. Some of Qualcomm’s chip manufacturing orders are handled by Samsung’s foundry division, while some of Samsung’s mobile chips use Qualcomm’s main processors. If MediaTek succeeds in integrating its Dimensity 9400 into Samsung’s smartphone supply chain, it would be a significant milestone for MediaTek.

The report from The Chosun Daily also highlighted that from Samsung’s perspective, choosing Dimensity to reduce costs and diversify the supply chain is a sensible decision.

Read more

• [News] Samsung Adopts Dimensity 9300+ Instead of Snapdragon, the First Time for Its Flagship Tablet to Feature MediaTek AP
• [News] MediaTek Announces 4nm Dimensity 7300 Series Chips, Supporting Foldable Devices

(Photo credit: MediaTek)