Huawei could push Samsung to release tri-fold Galaxy sooner

In September 2024, Huawei launched the Mate XT Ultimate, the world’s first tri-folding smartphone. It has been getting a tremendous response, much more than that for Samsung’s latest, Galaxy Z Fold 6. However, the South Korean tech giant didn’t face an imminent threat from it as the phone was available only in China.
It meant that Samsung could take its own sweet time to bring the tri-folding Galaxy phone that it is developing to the market. Well, not anymore, as Huawei is launching the Mate XT Ultimate globally today. It poses an immediate threat to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and may force Samsung to bring its tri-folding phone to the market early.

Huawei to launch Mate XT Ultimate globally today

Huawei is holding an event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia today. At this event, the Chinese company is expected to launch the Mate XT Ultimate globally. In other words, it will make the phone available to purchase in markets outside China.
While there’s no official information about the countries where Huawei will launch the phone, on X, @nirave claims that the company will launch it in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) tomorrow for AED 13,000 (approximately USD 3,500).
As the Mate XT Ultimate is currently available only in China, the firmware for it doesn’t have Google services. It means that even if people around the world import it from China, they won’t be able to use it properly out of the box.
However, if Huawei launches the phone in UAE, it will most likely ship the device with Google services. That will allow people around the globe to import it and use it as their daily driver without tinkering too much with the device.

It may force Samsung to launch the tri-fold Galaxy early

Yes, there will be very few people who might do so but it will certainly create a lot of buzz around the device. It will open the gate for people to directly compare it with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and ask Samsung to up its game.
That, in our opinion, will pressure Samsung to launch the tri-folding Galaxy phone that it is developing, early. While that will be great for consumers, we just hope that the South Korean tech giant doesn’t mess things up under pressure.
Samsung officially confirmed that it will launch a tri-folding smartphone at Galaxy Unpacked 2025. Recently, a leak revealed that its dual-folding display will measure around 10 inches, similar to that of the Mate XT Ultimate. Unfortunately, that’s all the information we have about it at the moment.