I used Huawei’s $ 3,600 tri-foldable, and it made every phone I ever tested felt outdated

Huawei just revealed the first tri-fold in the world telephoneThe partner XT Ultimate, at the end of last year in the home country. We did not hold hope for a global release, but it finally comes outside of China after receiving a record number of performances – even before the prices were announced.

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The Huawei Mate XT Ultimate pushes the boundaries of what you can expect from a phone by fitting a 10.2-inch screen in your pocket all in a more slimmer form factor than more recent foldable phones. I spent 24 hours with the tri-fold phone, and this is what makes it better than any other foldable book style on the market at the moment.

The design itself is a technological miracle

It is difficult to be surprised or excited when seeing a new phone nowadays, but the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate is different. Although I knew what I could expect after the unboxing, I was still pleasantly surprised when I kept it in my hands for the first time and folded it in a plate phone shape. During the first 24 hours I used it for browsing, multitasking, gaming, trying to install Google apps, and fold it easily and unfold before fun.

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When we talk about songs, the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate 3.6 mm is thin when it is completely unfolded and 12.8 mm thick when folded. For the context, Samsung’s last generation Galaxy Z Fold 5 measured 13.4 mm thick, while the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Is only 0.7 mm thinner than tri-fold from Huawei.

When you fold, you can feel the thickness and the 298 g weight in your hand, but unfold it once or twice and it seems. The hardware feels impressive, with an inner fold that is smaller than some mainstream folding things, while both hinges feel firm. It also has a satisfactory magnetic click when you fold it to a single-screen mode.

The screen is larger than ever – and I love it

I see myself the Huawei Mate more often see XT more than a book-style folding not because of the novelty, but because of the functionality. You will receive a 6.4-inch screen with a 1008 x 2232 pixel resolution, a 7.9-inch display with 2048 x 2232 pixels and a 10.2-inch screen with a resolution of 2232 x 3184. Display is a game changer and solves my biggest problem with a foldable book style.

When they completely unfolded, the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate offers really useful screen real estate. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 And Pixel 9 Pro Fold Take thick black bars on the top and bottom when watching 16: 9 videos on the interior screen – making it hardly any more useful than the cover screen. I usually only unfold these phones for multitasking and prefer to view content on the cover display, but the Huawei tri-fold changes that.

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On the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate, the 10.2-inch display has an aspect ratio of 16:11, which is miles better than the more boxy image relationships of folding bone in book style for video consultation. I watched YouTube videos (there are a few ways to install Google Apps) included in 16: 9, and my experience was fantastic -much closer to what you would get on the 16:10 display of a MacBook Air.

I know it is too early to say for sure how often I will use the Mate XT Ultimate in three screen mode, but I am convinced that it will be more than I initially thought. The mode with one screen is great for texting and bubbles, and the mode with two screens improves multitasking, but the mode with three screens is where the Huawei Tri-folder really seems to be offered by a more natural video consultation experience.

In terms of quality, it is a sharp and lively display. In particular, you will not receive 120Hz refresh speed, because the display of Mate XT Ultimate is a maximum of 90Hz. However, it has an LTPO OLED panel with vibrant colors and 1440Hz high-frequency PWM-Dimmen to reduce harvest.

The smaller details you need to know

Huawei has not officially announced the chipset details, but it is said that it is being driven by the company’s internal Kirin 9010. It is linked to 16 GB RAM and up to 1 TB storage. I have not yet performed benchmarks and 24 hours is not enough time to assess the performance, but I have noticed liquid animations when switching between screen modes. The transitions have run smoothly and I have not experienced any strutters or delays so far.

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However, the software feels outdated. The Global version of Mate XT Ultimate runs on EMUI 14 instead of the China-Exclusive Harmonyos. The software is functional and lets the job done, but the appearance and the feeling makes no impression on me. It is not delivered with Google Apps, but there are ways to install them, including the Play Store. It requires patience and an interest in tinkering with the device, but you can install apps such as Google Maps, Gemini and more.

At the back you will receive a 50MP primary camera with OIS, a 12MP periscope sensor with 5.5x optical zoom and a 12MP Ultrawide corner camera with a 120-degree field of vision. From my first impressions the photos look decent, but they are not on the same footing with Huawei’s flagship plates phones – which were expected. It must be a challenge to record larger sensors while the phone keeps so thin.

The only thing I worry about when I use the Huawei Tri-Fold phone is the life of the battery. While it packs a 5,600 mAh battery with support for 66W wired and charging 50 W wirelessly, it can use the battery faster in the three screens mode.

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To help with video consultation in the mode with three screen, Huawei bundles a color closing cabinet with a built -in standard in the box. This allows you to support the phone on a fixed surface without the need for an external accessory.

The Huawei Mate XT Ultimate is an expensive phone, where the Chinese price translates to more than $ 2,800. It will be available in Europe for 3,499 euros (around $ 3,660). For that price you will receive a telephone, a foldable book style and a tablet experience, which offers an excellent video association experience. I will use it more in the coming days, but I can already see the use case and why a tri-fold can be better than a foldable book style or another phone, in that regard.