Huawei Planning To Launch A Cheaper Foldable Smartphone Later This Year

In the Huawei Mate X and Mate XS, Huawei already has two foldable phones which offer a tablet screen when unfolded and a smartphone form factor when folded. These devices have been very expensive for the latter at €2,499 (~$2,700) but it seems we can expect a cheaper foldable this year. 

In an interview with YouTuber GregglesTV, Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants, claimed that Huawei is working on an in-folding foldable phone. This would be a deviation from the current out-folding devices in the company, and presumably more like the Galaxy Fold or Galaxy Z Flip than the Mate XS.

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Young said:

“We expect to see Huawei pursue both a clamshell and in-folding model, and we think they’re struggling to come up with an ultra-thin glass solution right now for the clamshell. But we do expect them to do an in-folding model later this year, and be pretty aggressively priced.”

The manufacturer has ordered 500,000 units, he adds, saying it could be the “next big product” in the foldable smartphone market.

Executive in the display industry admits that in September or October Huawei will launch the new foldable. This would presumably be alongside the Huawei Mate 40 series, with usually launching Mate devices in this window. However there is no word about how much cheaper this new device will be. Even a €2,000 foldable would be technically cheaper than the Mate XS, after all. 

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As Samsung is also rumored to be working on a more affordable Galaxy Fold, it might not be the only cheaper foldable coming this year either. This device is tipped to be more in line with the original model while still offering a price tag of ~$1,099.

Young also suggests that Xiaomi will soon do a foldable phone, although it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen the company’s foldable device. Last year, the company had previously demonstrated a dual folding phone, which was a notable departure from other foldables. There’s no word for the Xiaomi foldable on the final form factor, but hopefully it’s priced competitively too.