Huawei launches Mate XT in Malaysia to kick off trifold smartphone’s overseas roll-out

The international roll-out reflects Huawei’s confidence in the Mate XT, which was released in China on the same date as the iPhone 16

Reading Time:2 minutes

Visitors check out the Mate XT trifold smartphone on the sidelines of Huawei Technologies’ global roll-out of the handset in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Zhou Xinin Kuala Lumpur

Published: 8:00pm, 18 Feb 2025Updated: 9:07pm, 18 Feb 2025

Huawei Technologies on Tuesday launched its Mate XT, the world’s first trifold smartphone, in Malaysia to kick off the international roll-out of the 5G device, as the US-sanctioned company moves to rebuild its once-lucrative handset business outside China.

The Mate XT, which was initially released on the mainland on September 20, was unveiled at an exhibition hall in Kuala Lumpur, with nearly 1,000 participants there including media delegates as well as Huawei’s partners from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, South Korea and Japan.

The event marked one of the company’s largest consumer product launches in a foreign country since its overseas smartphone business was hit hard by US trade sanctions.

Other products introduced at the event in Malaysia’s capital included the company’s MatePad Pro series tablet, the Huawei Band 10 wearable device and the FreeArc earphones.

The Mate XT’s overseas roll-out reflects Huawei’s confidence in the design of the handset, which stole Apple’s thunder in the world’s largest smartphone market when it was released on the same date as the iPhone 16.

Andreas Zimmer, head of product at Huawei Technologies’ consumer business group, presents the Mate XT trifold smartphone at the global sales roll-out of the handset in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Tuesday. Photo: AP

At the Kuala Lumpur launch, Huawei touted the device as a “pioneering innovation in the industry” and a record-breaker in terms of being the thinnest foldable smartphone with the largest foldable display in the market.