At a glance
Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Absolutely massive screen
- Gorgeous design
- Impressively slim and lightweight
- Great cameras
Cons
- It’s wildly expensive
- Fragile flexible screen exposed at all times
- Older processor and no 5G
- No Google apps and services
Our Verdict
The Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design is a technological marvel, being able to fit a 10.2-inch tablet in your pocket feels like wizardry. I have absolutely loved using it, but there are far too many drawbacks to ever recommend buying one. It’s not durable enough, the processor is outdated, and there’s no 5G and no support for Google services. Even if you can live with all that, the €3499 asking price is tough to bear.
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Best Prices Today: Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design
The first time I held a foldable phone (a colleague’s Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 ), I said “this is cool, but it’s not big enough, it needs another fold.” Well, it took some time, but that dream is now a reality, and the world’s first tri-fold phone has reached the global market.
The Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design is one of the most futuristic and exciting phones that I have ever used. The question is, is it ready for the mainstream? With the fragile flexible display exposed at all times and a wildly high asking price, this seems more like a prototype than something you’d find on store shelves.
I was excited to find out what it’s like to live with, so I stuffed my SIM card inside and used it as my main handset for the past week. There’s a lot to love about this super-sized foldable, but there are plenty of shortcomings too. Let’s explore.
Design & Build
- Thinnest foldable ever (unfolded)
- Weighs 298g
- IPX8 rated
Everything about the Huawei Mate XT screams luxury; From the rich red vegan leather rear to the shiny metallic accents, the whole phone looks extremely high-end. However, with a price tag of €3499, you’d expect that to be the case.
Luke Baker
The next thing that stands out is the phone’s impossible dimensions. The phone comes unfolded in the box, as all foldables do, so the first time you touch it you get to admire the wildly slim 3.6mm frame. It’s truly an engineering marvel.
When folded down, it’s 12.8mm thick, or about 0.7mm thicker than the Galaxy Z Fold 6 . Considering how large the unfolded panel is, that’s a remarkable feat. At the same time, the phone feels dense and solid – there’s nothing flimsy about it.
At 298g, this isn’t the lightest phone, but that’s all relative. It’s around half the weight of an iPad while offering very similar screen real estate. Of course, it’s much easier to fit in your pocket, too.
At first, figuring out how to fold the thing is a little daunting. The hinge on the right works like most foldables, whereas the hinge on the left folds backwards. It took a day or two before I was able to unfold it quickly and confidently, before then I was always trying to remember the steps. Thankfully, applying pressure in the wrong direction doesn’t seem to do any harm.
Unlike other book-style foldables , there’s no separate outer screen on the Mate XT, it’s all one screen. This means the relatively fragile folding panel snakes its way around to the front of the phone, and the other sections of the screen come alive as the hinges are engaged.
Honestly, this is my least favourite thing about the phone. I’m not the clumsiest guy around, but inevitably every phone I own gets dropped at some point, and the Mate XT isn’t likely to do well in such scenarios. The flexible screen is impressively scratch-resistant, but it’s not going to compete with Gorilla Glass-clad alternatives – it needs to be able to fold, after all.
Luke Baker
That said, after using the phone for about a week, it’s still looking flawless. I haven’t dropped it, and I don’t plan to, but I guess we’ll see what happens when I do.
A Huawei representative at the launch showed me their Mate XT, which had been used for months without a case, and I was amazed at how good it looked. There were only minor marks on the screen, and apparently that one had suffered a drop or two – although clearly not on gravel.
The Mate XT Ultimate Design comes with a very nice case in the box. At a glance, it looks like the case that comes with the Mate X6 , but this one is made from aramid fibre. That means it’s super thin, lightweight and strong. It has the same metal flip-out kickstand too. This can rotate 270 degrees to prop your phone up at different angles, and it’s lovely to have it on a foldable like this.
The case has an extended flap on the right side, but rather than covering the hinge, this is designed to protect the exposed screen as it curves around to the inside. It clips into place securely and made me much more confident about stuffing the phone into my pocket. The only downside is that it flaps about a bit when you’re using the phone fully unfolded.
Like most flagship foldables, the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate carries an IPX8 rating . This means water shouldn’t do much harm, but you’ll need to be careful around dust. In any case, I’m more concerned about accidentally putting it in the same pocket as a coin than particulates.
Screen & Speakers
- 10.2-inch folding display
- 90Hz LTPO OLED panel
- Stereo speakers
The screen can be used in three different configurations. When fully folded, it has a footprint similar to most candybar-style phones, it’s just a tad thicker and heavier.
The screen has a sharper edge on the left, while the right curves around to the inside. It reminds me of the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge from many years back, however, the curved portion of the screen isn’t really utilised, it’s just black in this mode. If you’re using the included case, you won’t see it anyway.
Luke Baker
You can also use the phone with just one of the hinges engaged, which gives you a larger square-ish display that feels like the interior screen of a typical foldable. When you do this, you’re using the second hinge, so the portion of the screen that was acting as the cover flips around the back.
This is a good and a bad thing. It means you’ll need to be careful about putting the phone down in this mode, with the relatively fragile screen on the rear, but it also means you can use that part of the screen for taking selfies with the rear cameras.
I was surprised by how often I chose to use the phone in this mode. It’s nice to have a middle ground between the cover screen and full-on tablet mode, and if I was reading an article on the bus, for example, that’s the way I’d usually do it.
Then, fully extended, you get a glorious 10.2-inch screen with a 16:11 aspect ratio. It feels much more like a tablet than any other foldable, and watching content from apps like YouTube and Netflix is a wonderful experience. The aspect ratio means the screen is almost fully utilised for 16:9 video, with only minimal black bars, it’s worlds apart from the usual square-ish foldable screens.
The same is true for gaming and reading web pages. These are typically optimised for desktops or mobiles, and foldable phones usually sit somewhere in the middle. Everything is scaled so much more appropriately on the large-format display of the Mate XT, and it’s a pleasure to use.
It’s a high-resolution 2232 x 3184 panel and it looks sharp in all modes. It’s OLED, of course, and it brings with it the rich colours and deep black levels that we’ve come to expect from a high-end smartphone. It’s only 90Hz , which I was a little disappointed to learn, but honestly, I haven’t really noticed the difference in use. It feels smooth at all times, and it’s LTPO, so it’ll dip down as low as 1Hz to conserve battery on static images.
Luke Baker
The screen coating appears similar to the folding screen of the Mate X6 , and it’s also fairly similar to the Z Fold 6 . This means the reflectivity is quite high, but it’s very resistant to fingerprint smudges when compared to a more matte display. The downside is that the creases are quite noticeable when the light hits them, which will bother some users more than others.
The phone has dual stereo speakers that are positioned on opposite sides when unfolded, and this creates a nice wide soundstage. Especially compared to a bar-phone, as there’s simply no way to get the drivers that far apart. Unfortunately, beyond the staging, the speakers are a little lacklustre. There’s not much punch to the low-end, likely due to the slim chassis, and it means they’re less impactful than much of the competition. They’re decent enough but don’t expect to be wowed.
Specs & Performance
- Mystery processor (Kirin 9010?)
- 16GB RAM
- 1TB storage
The global version of the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate comes in one variety with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, a very generous capacity. As for the processor, well, that’s a little more complicated. Huawei has declined to mention which chip is powering this model, but other sources claim it’s the Kirin 9010 – an SMIC-produced 7nm chip.
Luke Baker
Whatever is in here, it’s safe to say it’s not the latest and greatest chipset, US sanctions on Huawei don’t allow for that. The question is, is it good enough? In benchmark scores, it’s immediately clear that this phone is a long way behind its foldable competition, but did I feel that in use? Not really.
The phone feels snappy and responsive when navigating the OS, apps open quickly, and the phone quickly adapts to changes in screen size. It certainly doesn’t feel like it’s behind in day-to-day use. The only thing that felt slightly slower than usual was the image processing when you first open a photo.
Of course, when it comes to graphically intensive games, you’ll see a bigger difference. And that’s a shame because they look amazing on this super-sized display.
Luke Baker
I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could run Zenless Zone Zero on the high graphic preset without too much stuttering, albeit only at 30fps. The phone got pretty toasty after a while, especially around the camera module, but it still did the job. My favourite way to play is using a Bluetooth gamepad, propping up the Mate XT on my desk like a mini console setup – in that case, the heat isn’t so much of a concern.
It’s also worth mentioning the connectivity. Huawei’s modems are among the best around, and I found that I had signal in areas other brands can’t reach – like inside the Faraday cage of a Tesco superstore. The big caveat is that the global version lacks 5G connectivity, again due to those US sanctions. It’s not a dealbreaker for me, the 4G speeds are very good, but it’s a definite step back compared to other foldables.
Huawei Mate XT benchmarks
Cameras
- 50 Mp f/1.4-f/4.0 main camera
- 12 Mp f/3.4 5.5x telephoto
- 12 Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide
- 8 Mp, f/2.2 selfie camera, fixed focus
The Huawei Mate XT has three cameras on its rear, a 12Mp ultrawide, a 12Mp 5.5x telephoto and the main event, a 50Mp 24mm equivalent snapper with a mechanically adjustable aperture. It’s one of the first foldables to boast this feature, with the only other model being Huawei’s own Mate X6 .
Luke Baker
I’m not certain, but I have suspicions that both of these phones have the same main camera. The specs are very similar, but Huawei has been coy about the sensor details. All I know is that the Mate XT main camera has a 1/1.56-inch unit – the rest is a mystery. Whatever the hardware may be, both deliver similar results, and that’s a very good thing.
Huawei’s image processing might be my favourite of any smartphone brand. Photos come out looking natural and lifelike, with a level of sharpness that’s more akin to a professional camera than most phones. Colour accuracy is brilliant, too, and 90% of the time, images taken on the Mate XT matched what I saw with my eyes, no matter which lens I was using.
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Speaking of the other lenses, they’re a noticeable downgrade from the Mate X6. It’s mainly low-light shots that give it away – they need very long exposures to get useful results, and even then, details are quite muddied.
Unlike the Mate X6, you can’t shoot macro photos with the telephoto , and I found that quite disappointing. I’m also not a huge fan of the 5.5x focal length. It’s just a bit too zoomed in most of the time, I find the 3-4x range much more versatile.
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That said, all lenses deliver outstanding results in daylight conditions, and Huawei’s portrait mode effects are exceptional, as usual. This phone can take amazing photos – it’s just important to be aware of its limitations. There’s only so much room for cameras when a phone is this slim.
Around the front, there’s an 8Mp punch-hole selfie camera with an f/2.2 aperture and a fixed-focus lens.
On paper, very unimpressive specs, but the results are surprisingly good with sufficient lighting. I think it’s mainly down to image processing, but the level of detail is much higher than I anticipated. It’s not the best selfie camera out there, but it’s good. Plus, since this is a foldable, it’s very easy to switch to the superior main camera for your selfies instead.
Battery Life & Charging
- 5600 mAh battery
- 66W wired charging
- 50W wireless charging
Despite the wildly slim chassis, Huawei has managed to squeeze a 5600 mAh battery pack inside the Mate XT. That’s a fairly beefy capacity for a foldable, and with a gigantic screen like this, you want all the battery you can get.
Our usual PCMark Work battery benchmark yields pretty underwhelming results, but it should be noted that I ran the test with the screen fully unfolded. Almost no one is going to use the phone like that, simply due to the size of it, and the real-world reality is much more encouraging.
Luke Baker
The phone had no trouble getting me to the end of the day, and that’s with plenty of camera use, as well as a couple of hours watching YouTube on the full-size 10.2-inch screen. More often than not, I’d get to bedtime with around 30% remaining. Of course, your results will vary, and if you play a lot of games, expect the battery to drain a bit quicker.
The charging specs are impressive too. You get up to 66W speeds with the included charger and if you have the appropriate wireless charger, you can hit 50W without needing to plug in. This means you can expect to get from fully flat to around 80% charged in just 30 minutes when wired. However, the last 30% takes significantly longer, and I was waiting 1 hour and 7 minutes for a 100% charge.
Software & Apps
- EMUI 14.2, based on Android 12
- No Google services
- Missing the latest multitasking features
Bizarrely, the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate ships with EMUI 14.2, while the Huawei Mate X6 , which launched earlier in the global market, ships with EMUI 15. Presumably, Huawei needs to make some more optimisations before EMUI 15 can work with the tri-fold form factor. Regardless, you shouldn’t be concerned, as the overall feel and feature set is very similar.
Luke Baker
The one thing I missed, compared to the Mate X6, is the stereoscopic three-app split-screen view. That would be amazing on this larger display, but I suppose we’ll have to wait for EMUI 15 to drop. You can, at least, keep two apps open side by side with another as a floating window.
For the most part, EMUI 14.2 functions very similarly to the last few iterations. It has a slick friendly look, and it’s speedy and smooth, which is impressive considering the limited processing power. One thing that has changed is the removal of the app drawer. I find this very frustrating: I much prefer to have my apps tucked away out of sight, and that’s no longer an option unless you use some kind of third-party launcher.
As you may know, since the US sanctions in 2020, Huawei phones can’t officially support Google apps and services. This means there’s no Play Store, no Google Assistant, and you’re essentially missing most of the creature comforts that Android users know and love.
Luke Baker
That doesn’t mean that you can’t get them working, though. My preferred solution is a combination of the MicroG Project and the Aurora Store , but there’s also GBox , which is a little less fiddly to set up. Once you’ve done the legwork, you can install most Google apps and have them working as expected.
The ones that don’t work, and the ones I miss when using a Huawei device, are Google Wallet and Google Assistant. Otherwise, it functions pretty normally, and aside from the occasional delayed notification, I didn’t have too much trouble using it as my daily driver.
The problem is that this is one of the most expensive phones of all time, and if you’re spending the big bucks, you certainly don’t want to have a sub-par experience. At present, there’s not much Huawei can do about this, but it’s sure to limit the appeal of an already niche device.
Price & Availability
Huawei unveiled the global version of the Mate XT at an event in Malaysia in February 2025. However, we’re still not exactly clear on which regions will be able to purchase the phone. As it stands, the Mate XT is available to order on the Huawei website in Malaysia and the UAE , but we’ve yet to spot it on any European sites.
Huawei has been unable to provide any more information at this time, so we still don’t know if or when the phone might land in the UK. Considering the price was announced in Euros, though, we’d at least expect it to land somewhere on the continent.
If you’re in a supported region, don’t expect a bargain. The Mate XT has an MSRP of €3499, which makes it one of the most expensive phones ever – outside of niche ultra-luxe brands like Vertu.
Should you buy the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design?
First things first, I have to say the Huawei Mate XT is an amazing accomplishment. It feels like magic being able to pull a 10.2-inch tablet out of my pocket, and in some ways, it’s what I always wanted a foldable to be.
Two huge issues would prevent me from buying one, though. The first is the price. A €3499 MSRP puts this far out of reach for most consumers, especially when you have the usual Huawei caveats to contend with. The second is the durability.
In fairness, my review sample is still looking spotless after a week of use, and Huawei is offering a free screen replacement for the first year in some regions, but I can’t help but treat the phone like a delicate flower. That’s especially true after watching JerryRigEverything’s durability test . Just knowing that accidentally putting the phone in the same pocket as my keys could ruin it, and one drop could kill the screen, puts me on edge at all times.
My favourite way to use this phone is in combination with a folding keyboard, as a kind of pocketable laptop replacement. It’s amazing for this, and I can see myself continuing to use it to get work done on the road for as long as it’s in my possession. Does that make it worth the asking price? Well, that’s for you to decide.
Huawei deserves a lot of credit for this innovative design, and it’s one of the most exciting phones in recent years. But is it ready for the mainstream? Absolutely not. However, I do think it offers a glimpse of the future. With a more durable design and a more stomachable price tag, I think we’ll see a lot more tri-folds in years to come.
Specs
- EMUI 14.2, based on Android
- 10.2-inch 2232×3184 90Hz LTPO foldable display
- Power-button fingerprint sensor
- Kirin 9010
- 16GB RAM
- 1TB storage
- Cameras:
- 50Mp main sensor
- 12Mp ultrawide
- 12Mp 5.5x telephoto
- 8Mp selfie camera
- Up to 4K @ 60fps rear video
- Stereo speakers
- Dual-SIM
- Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax
- Bluetooth 5.2
- 5600mAh battery
- 66W wired charging
- 50W wireless charging
- 156.7 x 73.5 x 12.8 mm (folded)
- IPX8 certified
- 298g
- Colours: Red, Black
Best Prices Today: Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design
Author: Luke Baker, Contributor, Tech Advisor
Luke is a freelance journalist who has been working in consumer electronics for over a decade. Previously Features Editor at Pocket-lint, Luke can now be found contributing reviews and features to a variety of publications, as well as running a YouTube channel called Neon Airship in his spare time. Luke loves anything that takes pictures, whether it’s a smartphone, camera or drone, and he also gets very excited about the latest VR and AR tech.
Recent stories by Luke Baker:
- Sony Xperia 1 VII review: When unique isn’t enough
- Oppo Find X9 Pro review: I think I’m in love
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