Smartphone reviews these days are starting to feel like Groundhog Day for us. Especially when we hit that dreaded Performance section.

Suddenly, we’re reaching for superlatives that feel increasingly hollow. Snappy. Fluid. Effortless. They all feel the same. They’re all fast. They’re all buttery smooth. They all perform like one another in everyday use. The same often goes for the displays and the camera systems, although, arguably, the latter is a subjective topic.

SEE ALSO: Huawei Mate XT goes global with MatePad Pro 13.2-inch 2025, FreeArc, Band 10 in tow

Then something comes along which is genuinely fascinating. Enter the Huawei Mate XT. If you follow the international technology scene, you’ll have no doubt seen images and videos of the world’s first tri-folding smartphone in your feeds. It is immediately interesting, unlike anything most of us have seen. And here are five takeaways from our hands-on experience with it.

@revuphilippines It’s almost time to #UnfoldTheClassic. ✨ #HUAWEIMateXT #UltimateDesign #HUAWEILaunch #HUAWEI #RevuDotComDotPH www.revu.com.ph @HUAWEI Philippines @monch @Alora Uy Guerrero ♬ original sound – Revu Philippines

A teaser we at Revü Philippines posted days ago

@revuphilippines Less than a day before the global launch of the world's first tri-fold phone! And we're taking a velfie with the #HUAWEIMateXT ahead of the #HUAWEI Innovative Product Launch later here in Malaysia. Just excited. 🤭 #HUAWEILaunch #UnfoldTheClassic #RevuDotComDotPH ♬ Dance tune / tropical house which suits summer(200112) – Reglvz

And here’s one from yesterday, February 17

Impossibly sleek

Let’s get right to it: The Huawei Mate XT is impossibly thin. Seriously, the first thing that hits you about this tri-fold is its sheer lack of bulk. Unfolded, we’re talking a razor-thin 3.6mm profile. That’s barely thicker than the USB-C port at the bottom — a port that feels like the only thing holding back true wafer-thinness. Imagine ditching it for wireless charging; this thing could be even sleeker. In person, it’s even more striking than the current crop of foldables we’ve put through the ringer so far.

Folded up, the Huawei Mate XT clocks in at just 12.8mm. For a tri-fold, that’s wild. It practically breathes down the neck of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6, which comes in at 12.1mm, and that’s a remarkable feat considering the extra screen real estate Huawei‘s packing.

And despite the expansive screen real estate, it feels surprisingly wieldy in hand at just 298 grams. To put that into perspective, a current-gen standard iPad — with a display that’s only a hair larger at 10.9 inches — weighs in like a brick at 481 grams for the cellular model. The Mate XT? Featherweight champion in comparison.

One screen to rule them all

Now, about that LTPO OLED screen… because the tech giant is doing things differently here. The Huawei Mate XT is rocking a single, uninterrupted display, unlike every other book-style foldable out there. Notably absent is a discrete cover display; instead, this device leverages its tri-fold mechanism to offer alternative display modes: a partially unfolded state presents a 6.4-inch screen for phone-like operation, while a further unfolded configuration gives you a 7.9-inch dual-panel display, mirroring the screen real estate of many existing foldables that have a single hinge.

Fully unfurled, you’re staring at a 10.2-inch canvas. Huawei has gone with a 3,184 x 2,232 resolution, a 16:11 aspect ratio, and a reasonably smooth 90Hz refresh. Tucked into the far corner, there’s an 80-megapixel selfie camera for your video calls and vanity shots. In terms of picture quality, this tri-fold phone’s OLED panel is vibrant and punchy.

Pop that thing open to its full 10.2 inches, and suddenly you’ve got a legit tablet in your hands. Movie marathons? TV show binges? Spreadsheets that don’t make you squint? Finally, we’re getting a foldable screen that feels genuinely spacious for watching videos and tackling real work.

Engineering articulation

Okay, let’s talk hinges, because Huawei went all out here, too. The Mate XT’s got not one, but two hinges, letting it fold both ways — in and out. The brand’s calling it some kind of super-advanced hinge system, and honestly? It feels like it. These hinges feel solid and sturdy. They hold their position at basically any angle you want. No floppy nonsense here. The tension is smooth as butter, and you get this satisfying little snap when it closes.

That hinge control is actually useful. You can bend this thing into a zigzag shape and just stand it up on a table, no problem. You can even prop it up on one panel, no case needed. But speaking of the case… yes, this thing comes with one, and it’s got this rotating kickstand thing that turns the Huawei Mate XT into a mini portable screen.

Honestly, the whole smartphone feels premium. Metal frame, that nice-feeling faux leather on the back — it just feels expensive (and it is). The only real downside? That screen is always out there, even when folded.

Not skimping on the camera (as expected)

The octagonal camera module on the rear houses three distinct cameras. The primary camera, notably, is quite a beast, featuring a 50-megapixel image sensor and a variable aperture lens ranging from f/1.4 to f/4.0. Sounds familiar? It appears the company has straight up borrowed this setup from the Huawei Mate X6, the foldable we were geeking out over just last month. That’s a good thing. Huawei’s regular foldable already punches way above its weight in the camera department, so we’re expecting nothing less than stellar results from the Mate XT’s main shooter.

The brand didn’t stop there, though. It also threw in a 12-megapixel periscope telephoto lens with a solid 5.5x optical zoom, plus a 12-megapixel ultrawide lens. Basically, you’re getting the full flagship camera setup here, covering all the important focal lengths. That said, when it comes to taking photos, this device should absolutely destroy any tablet camera out there.

So far, so snappy?

Under the hood, the Mate XT is packing Huawei’s own Kirin 9010 chip, paired with 16GB of RAM and a terabyte of storage. In our hands-on, things felt snappy. No surprise there. But let’s be real, we were mostly just swiping around and opening apps — hardly pushing this silicon to its breaking point.

Battery-wise, you’re looking at a 5,600mAh cell. Charging gets you 66-watt wired and a surprisingly brisk 50-watt wireless. That 66-watt wired charging isn’t going to win any speed contests — not in 2025, anyway — but props to Huawei for making the wireless charging actually feel fast and, dare we say, useful. It’s claiming all-day battery life, which, okay, maybe. But it’s worth remembering we’re talking about powering a tablet-sized screen here. Judging the Mate XT’s battery stamina by regular-phone standards? That’s probably not a fair fight.

Another thing to note is that the global variant of the Huawei Mate XT will ship with EMUI out of the box, not HarmonyOS. Make of that what you will.

Final thoughts

The Huawei Mate XT isn’t just another foldable; it’s a statement. In a market already pushing the boundaries of smartphone tech, Huawei just went ahead and tri-folded the script. Yes, there are understandable caveats and durability concerns, but to focus solely on those would be to miss the point.

This is a device that feels genuinely groundbreaking, a glimpse into a future where smartphones feel even more adaptable to our lives. The Mate XT is a bold swing, a conversation starter, and a seriously impressive piece of engineering. Whether it’s the perfect foldable remains to be seen after more rigorous testing, but one thing’s for sure: The tri-fold era is officially here, and Huawei just set the pace.

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