Another day, another tri-foldable, but neither Samsung nor Apple made it

Huawei, the company that brought us the world's first tri-foldable (the Mate XT Ultimate), is ready to release yet another tri-foldable.

It's likely to be called the Mate XT 2, but don't let that moniker fool you – this will actually be Huawei's third tri-foldable.

The second one was actually the Mate XTs and it premiered in September 2025, almost two years ago now. Yup, the wonderful world of foldables evolves fast.

The next big thing

The alleged Huawei Mate XT 2 is expected to arrive in the following few months. There's no official date attached to the rumor, but it'll most likely happen well before the end of 2026.

Upgrades are expected across multiple fronts – performance, cameras, battery capacity.

Per the most recent information, the new tri-fold (again: Mate XT2) could arrive in the company of a "traditional" book-style foldable (could be the Mate X9) in H2 2026.

Large screens

Both the tri-foldable and the regular foldable are rumored to pack advanced, high-end Kirin chipsets. The tri-foldable could come with extra refinements (like to its folding design). The Mate X9, meanwhile, is said to offer an 8.15-inch inner display and a 6.5-inch cover screen to potential buyers.

8 inches might not sound that different from 6.5 inches and you might wonder if you'd even need a foldable in the first place. But while the 6.5-inch cover display is narrow and tall (resembling panels of the slab phones that we're used to), the inner display is square-ish and offers twice the screen real estate.

There are no Mate XT 2 display rumors right now, but it's safe to say that the panels will be brighter and better than on the original model, which arrived with a tablet-like 10-inch+ inner screen.

What about chipsets?

The Mate X9 and the Mate XT 2 could come with Kirin 9050 and Kirin 9050 Pro, respectively. Since we're not dealing with well-known silicon like Snapdragon or Dimensity, the question is how well the new Kirin chipset will stand against its peer competitors.

Earlier rumors suggest the new chip might use a design where the logical components are stacked straight on top of each other in two layers. This layout is expected to boost speeds and save battery power without needing a more complex or newer manufacturing process.

Cameras and more

The leak reads that at least one of the devices will feature a flagship-grade 1/1.3-inch main camera, paired with a periscope zoom lens despite a slimmer camera bump.

Battery life could also be a major selling point, with capacities reportedly starting above the 6,000mAh mark.

Sounds good, but availability will surely miss on US buyers.

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