Huawei Xiaomi Intensify Premium Foldable Rivalry

Huawei and Xiaomi have introduced new foldable smartphones in China, increasing pressure in the premium handset market as competition with Apple intensifies. The launches reflect a wider shift among Chinese manufacturers towards higher-priced devices, proprietary chips and tighter control over core technology.

Huawei’s Mate XT2, a dual-folding handset that expands into a larger display, is priced from 19,999 yuan to 24,999 yuan. The company said rising memory costs and the expense of new technology had added pressure to pricing. The model also uses Huawei’s Kirin 9050 Pro chip, reinforcing the company’s effort to strengthen its position in semiconductors despite continued US restrictions on access to advanced technology.

Huawei said its LogicFolding chip architecture is designed to improve computing efficiency while lowering power consumption. The development is significant less for individual product features than for the company’s broader push to reduce dependence on foreign technology and deepen its domestic supply chain.

Xiaomi has also moved further into the premium segment with the Xiaomi 18 Fold, priced between 10,999 yuan and 14,999 yuan. The device uses Xiaomi’s XRing O3 AI processor, highlighting a similar effort to bring more key components under internal control.

The launches come ahead of Apple’s latest product event, adding to competition at the upper end of the Chinese smartphone market. Huawei held a 22.6 per cent market share in the second quarter and accounted for 68 per cent of domestic foldable shipments. The growing rivalry suggests that future competition will depend increasingly on pricing, chip development and ecosystem strength, rather than foldable design alone.