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Huawei's Trifold Phone: A New Contender in the Luxury Smartphone Market

Friday 20 September 2024 - 15:01

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Huawei's innovative trifold phone, the Mate XT, is gaining traction among affluent iPhone enthusiasts in Beijing. Despite the launch of the highly anticipated iPhone 16, many Chinese consumers are showing an equal, if not greater, interest in Huawei's latest offering.

CNBC's spot checks at stores on the launch day revealed an intriguing preference. Out of ten individuals interviewed, a remarkable eight expressed enthusiasm for both the new Huawei and Apple phones. This finding challenges the conventional wisdom that Apple's latest release would dominate the market.

Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications giant, has been rebuilding its smartphone business since the U.S. sanctions in 2019. The company's resilience is evident in the latest market share data from Canalys, which places Huawei in fourth position in China's smartphone market. Notably, Apple has dropped out of the top five, ceding its position to domestic players for the first time.

The price points of these luxury smartphones are a key differentiator. The iPhone 16 Pro Max starts at $1,199, while the iPhone 16 is priced at $799. In contrast, Huawei's trifold Mate XT carries a hefty price tag, starting at over $2,800. This significant price gap is even more pronounced in the secondhand market, with the Mate XT commanding prices of $7,100 to $8,520 on platforms like Xianyu.

The launch day saw an interesting contrast in consumer behavior. While iPhone enthusiasts lined up as early as 5:30 a.m. to secure the new iPhone, there were no queues outside Huawei stores in Beijing and Hefei. Huawei's strategy of delivering the new phones to reserved customers at 10:08 a.m. seemed to be a successful approach.

During CNBC's hour-and-twenty-minute observation at the Huawei store, a couple of dozen people visited the second floor, an area exclusively for Mate XT buyers. While it is unclear if all these individuals made a purchase, many were resellers, indicating a thriving secondary market for the device.

Huawei's website further highlighted the demand for the Mate XT, as it showed halted sales on Friday, with plans to resume them on Saturday at 10:08 a.m. The company aims to complete all deliveries by September 30.

The first individual CNBC spoke to at the Huawei store, Mr. Yang, arrived at 10 a.m. solely to experience the trifold phone. Yang, who declined to share his first name due to concerns about speaking with foreign media, expressed an intention to try out the device for a few days before deciding on its fate. He believed the Mate XT could fetch a premium of 2,000 yuan over its listed price.

Yang's interest in the Mate XT's trifold features reflects a broader sentiment among iPhone users. Even the first person in line at the Apple store, Mr. Wang, expressed a desire to own the Huawei trifold phone, awaiting a pickup notification. Wang's decision to purchase the iPhone 16 was influenced by its longer-lasting battery, but he was willing to wait for the iPhone 17 for any artificial intelligence enhancements.

This article is intended for professionals in the technology and telecommunications sectors, as well as enthusiasts interested in the latest trends in the luxury smartphone market. The tone is analytical and professional, providing an in-depth analysis of the market dynamics and consumer preferences.