Advertisement
Huawei Mate XT trifold handset sees over 3 million pre-orders ahead of iPhone 16 launch
Around 3.04 million people have made online reservations to buy Huawei’s new 5G Mate XT as of Monday afternoon.
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
1
Huawei Technologies saw reservations for its new Mate XT, the world’s first trifold smartphone, surge to more than 3 million after pre-orders started over the weekend, with scalpers listing the handset for at least 20,000 yuan (US$2,821) on the grey market.
Advertisement
Around 3.04 million people have made reservations to buy the Mate XT as of Monday afternoon, just two days after Shenzhen-based Huawei launched pre-orders for its latest 5G smartphone model via its official e-commerce platform Vmall.com.
Reservations on Vmall.com, which does not require a deposit, will conclude on September 19. Still, those who reserved their spot have no guarantee to immediately get their order when sales commence on September 20, according to Huawei.
That has somehow created a grey-market service, worth 100 yuan to 600 yuan, to help those who pre-ordered Mate XT to get the device when sales start. Scalpers’ asking price for the Mate XT has reached at least 20,000 yuan, according to checks made on Xianyu, the online flea market of Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post.
Privately held Huawei has not provided any details about the Mate XT’s price or full specifications. The online reservation page currently shows that the trifold handset will be available in two colours, red and black, and with 16-gigabyte random access memory, as well as internal storage options of 512GB and 1 terabyte.
Advertisement
The large number of Mate XT pre-orders reflects how Huawei appears to be stealing Apple’s thunder ahead of its new iPhone launch event – “It’s Glowtime” – on September 10. Huawei will formally introduce the Mate XT shortly after Apple concludes its event on Tuesday.
Advertisement