Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design tri-folding phone debuts globally with mind-numbing €3,499 price tag

Huawei debuted the Mate XT Ultimate Design back in September last year as the world's first tri-folding smartphone. By all indications, the foldable sold rather well in China, and the company has now finally launched it outside its home market.

The Mate XT Ultimate Design has now been unveiled in Malaysia and is set to be sold across multiple European markets. The tri-folding phone folds both inwards and outwards with a total inner screen real estate of 10.2". Under the hood is the Kirin 9010, 16 GB of RAM, and 1 TB of storage. The HiSilicon chip is generations behind Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite on current-gen flagships but remains Huawei's best option due to the Chinese company's trade restrictions.

Camera-wise, the Mate XT Ultimate Design adopts the Pura 70 Pro's 50 MP main camera. That shooter is joined by a 12 MP ultra-wide-angle snapper, a 12 MP 5.5x zoom periscope lens, and an 8 MP selfie camera. Other specs include a 5600 mAh battery, 66 W wired charging, and 50 W wireless charging. EMUI 14.2 underpins the foldable on the software side.

The Mate XT Ultimate Design launched in China with an RRP of CNY 19,999 ($2,760). The global version costs even more, however, as it's set to set European buyers back a headache-inducing €3,499. While it represents a bold attempt at innovation, the many pitfalls of the Mate XT Ultimate Design—its SoC and software, for example—indicate buyers may, perhaps, be better served waiting for Samsung's upcoming take on the tri-folding form factor.