With almost 3 million pre-orders, Huawei tri-fold smartphone could steal iPhone 16's spotlight

Huawei’s tri-fold smartphone, the Mate XT, has been the talk of the town for quite some time. After months-old rumors, including leaked images that show the phone’s body, the Shenzen-based tech giant opened the pre-order process over the weekend.

And now, the company has garnered at least 3 million pre-orders on Monday, September 9, as Apple is set to launch the iPhone 16 during the company’s “Glowtime” event on the same day. The phone will be released to the market on September 20—an unexpected business move from the Chinese company to challenge Apple’s domination in the country.

While Apple may be the world’s top mobile phone seller after overtaking Samsung earlier this year, Huawei holds the second-largest market share in China with a small margin to Apple (via StatCounter).

On the other hand, Apple has yet to enter the folding phone category, so Huawei and other Chinese competitors are already one foot forward in the race.

Apple’s “Glowtime” event, which will be broadcast on YouTube at 10 AM PT, will see the AI-friendly iPhone 16 lineup, as well as the iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and watchOS 11, get the most airtime. Rumors are saying that some of the phones from the series will have larger screens than their predecessors, besides the A18 chip and better camera.

The company’s big focus will also be on its AI advancements though, especially after landing a deal with OpenAI to bring ChatGPT’s smart to Apple’s devices. This potentially includes a smarter Siri, branded as “Apple Intelligence.”