Huawei plans tri-fold smartphone as Apple weighs foldable iPhone, reports say

Apple is reportedly working on a clamshell-style foldable smartphone for release as soon as 2026, while Huawei prepares a dual-hinged foldable for production

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Huawei’s Pocket 2, a clamshell-style foldable smartphone, seen at a specialty store in Xian on June 13, 2024. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 7:00am, 25 Jul 2024

The foldable smartphone market is set for a big boost amid reports that Apple is preparing a clamshell-style model, while Huawei Technologies may soon launch a tri-folding handset.

Apple’s top-down folding iPhone could come as early as 2026, according to a report by The Information on Wednesday. The US tech giant has reached out to Asian suppliers in recent months to make components for its first foldable handset, according to the report, citing anonymous sources.

This would mark Apple’s entry into the foldable handset segment, a fast-growing category in an otherwise flat smartphone market. The global market has become crowded with foldables from the likes of Samsung Electronics, Xiaomi, Oppo and Huawei.

Huawei overtook Samsung as the biggest foldable smartphone maker in the second quarter largely thanks to sales of devices like the Mate X5 in China. Photo: Bloomberg

US-sanctioned Huawei is reportedly on track to launch another foldable handset with the introduction of the world’s first smartphone that folds into three sections, with two hinges, according to a report on Saturday by Chinese state-backed media outlet Securities Daily.

The prototype is ready and mass production is scheduled to start in the third or fourth quarter this year, according to the report, citing anonymous sources who work in the supply chain. Huawei is also working to incorporate the latest artificial intelligence (AI) technologies into the phone.

Apple and Huawei did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.

Senior Huawei executive Richard Yu Chengdong said in a live-streamed interview last week that the company has been working on “the next generation of foldable phones” for the past five years.