Huawei already has two foldable phones in the Huawei Mate X and Mate XS, offering a tablet screen when unfolded and a smartphone form factor when folded. These devices were very expensive at €2,499 (~$2,700) for the latter, but it looks like we can expect a cheaper foldable this year.
Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants, has claimed in an interview with YouTuber GregglesTV (skip to the five minute mark) that Huawei is working on an in-folding foldable phone. This would be a departure from the company's current out-folding devices, and presumably more like the Galaxy Fold or Galaxy Z Flip than the Mate XS.
"We expect to see Huawei pursue both a clamshell and in-folding model, and we think they're struggling to come up with an ultra-thin glass solution right now for the clamshell. But we do expect them to do an in-folding model later this year, and be pretty aggressively priced," Young notes. He adds that the manufacturer has ordered 500,000 units, saying that it could be the "next big product" in the foldable arena.
The display industry executive reckons that Huawei will launch the new foldable in September or October. This would presumably be alongside the Huawei Mate 40 series, with Mate devices usually launching in this window. There's no word on how much cheaper this new device will be though. After all, even a €2,000 foldable would technically be cheaper than the Mate XS.
It might not be the only cheaper foldable coming this year either, as Samsung is also rumored to be working on a more affordable Galaxy Fold. This device is tipped to be more in line with the original model, while offering a ~$1,099 price tag.
Young also suggests that Xiaomi will be doing a foldable phone soon, although it wouldn't be the first time we saw a foldable device from the firm. The company previously demonstrated a dual folding phone last year, being a notable departure from other foldables. There's no word on the final form factor for the Xiaomi foldable, but hopefully it's competitively priced too.
Looking for more foldable news and features? Then we've highlighted some of our picks below.
- The best foldable phones you can get
- Surface Neo delayed, but Surface Duo still on track
- Huawei has lost at least $60 million on Mate XS foldable
- How much does it cost to replace a foldable phone's screen?
- Xiaomi could be working on a Galaxy Z Flip-style foldable of its own
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