I get over 75 phones over the course of a year, but there are a half-dozen or so that I'm particularly interested in using; in 2024, that list included the Vivo X100 Ultra, Xiaomi 14 Ultra, Honor Magic V3, Pixel 9 Pro XL, Find X7 Ultra, and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
But in the last six months, I've only wanted to use one device: Huawei's Mate XT. I generally like using foldables, and the Magic V3 and X Fold3 Pro combine sleek designs with great camera packages, but there isn't another foldable like the Mate XT. The tri-folding design makes it unique, and that in itself is worthy of attention.
I wasn't able to get the Chinese version of the Mate XT, but Huawei thankfully launched the foldable globally, and I headed to Malaysia to get my hands on the phone. I've used it for just over three days now, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that this is the most exciting phone I've used in quite a while.
The model I have is the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design, and it comes with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. Given the unique design and innovative tri-fold panel, it isn't surprising that this is the costliest phone in the world today — it costs €3,499 ($3,600), twice as much as the Find N5 foldable.
The Mate XT is a halo product, much like NVIDIA's RTX 5090 and Audeze's CRBN2 headset. As a technical showcase, it is one of a kind, and while I wasn't sure about its durability when I got started with the device, it's holding up astonishingly well. This is the thinnest foldable around, and it makes the Find N5's 4.21mm profile look chunky. Coming in at just 3.6mm when fully unfolded, it is sleeker than just about any other device I've used recently — I can't think of any other gadget that's as sleek.
The crease is visible to a greater extent than on the Find N5, but it isn't an issue in regular use. The Mate XT is relatively thick at 12.8 when folded, and at 298g, it is the heaviest phone around today. However, you don't necessarily feel that heft when using the device, and while it is thicker when fully folded, it is still pocketable — I didn't have any problems carrying it around.
The tri-fold design sees two hinges; one folds inwards, and the other outwards. This means that there's a portion of the panel on the right that doesn't have much in the way of protection, and while my unit didn't take any tumbles yet, I'm not willing to take that risk — I'm using the case bundled in the package.
While the oversized OLED panel is the key talking point of the Mate XT, Huawei did a great job with the design of the foldable; the red model looks stunning, with the gold accents around the hinges and camera module accentuating the design very well. The leather back has a great in-hand feel, and the Mate XT isn't anywhere as unwieldy as I thought it would be.
The unique nature of the phone means that you can use it in three modes. The standard is the fully folded design with the outer panel, and in this configuration, you get a 6.4-inch panel with a 2232 x 1008 resolution. It is wide enough that using the cover screen wasn't a problem, and while it isn't as good as the Magic V3 or Find N5 in this regard, it's a much better sight than the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Unfolding the Mate XT once gets you a traditional book-style inner panel that's 7.9 inches, and in this mode, it's similar in usability to most foldables around. But when you unfold once again, you get the full 10.2 inches, and the Mate XT basically transforms into a tablet.
The Mate XT has a singular advantage as a media consumption device thanks to the 10.2-inch OLED panel, and it is truly incredible to stream Netflix or YouTube content. The 16:9 ratio means you don't get much letterboxing either, and content is immersive like no other device today. The fully unfolded mode is also great when it comes to reading, and it's just plain cool to have this much screen real estate on a pocketable device.
The panel goes up to 90Hz (not 120Hz as every other foldable), and while that is a limitation, there's still some fluidity when navigating the interface. There isn't as big a difference between 90Hz and 120Hz as there is when you go from 60Hz to 90Hz, so it wasn't an issue as such.
Huawei is continuing to use its own silicon, and the Mate XT is powered by the 7nm Kirin 9010. While it isn't as good as the equivalent Qualcomm or MediaTek designs, it does a decent enough job in regular use as well as gaming, and I'll go into greater detail in an additional post.
I used Huawei's Pura 70 Ultra last year, and the cameras on the Mate XT are just as good — if anything, they're among the best of any foldable around. The 50MP main camera is flanked by dual 12MP lenses, and it takes fantastic photos. Similarly, the phone has standout battery life thanks to a 5600mAh battery, and there's 66W charging.
Software is still a huge point of contention with Huawei phones as the brand doesn't have access to Google's services. That said, installing the Play Store is pretty straightforward via GBox, and while it runs in a sandbox, you get to easily install and update anything you need without too much of a hassle. The phone has the requisite hooks made possible by microG, so if you're in the Google ecosystem, using the device is similar to just any other Android phone.
Just like the RTX 5090, the Mate XT is all about bragging rights. There are other foldables that do a great job in their own right, but there isn't anything that's quite as innovative as the tri-folding device. It costs much more than any other phone today, and it isn't exactly aimed at the average user — this is an enthusiast product through and through. As such, value doesn't really come into the equation, and Huawei is instead positioning this as a tech showcase that you can actually use day-to-day.
