R70 000 Smartphone Goes On Sale In South Africa - And It's Not From Apple

The Z-shaped tri-fold Mate XT - a three-way foldable phone - was first announced by the Chinese telecommunications and consumer electronics giant last September at a price then of US2 800.

Folding phones offer a form factor that has gained popularity in China, despite the higher cost of the devices. Huawei likely sees the Mate XT as a "halo" device to showcase its design prowess in smartphones, despite US-led technology supply restrictions on the company.

When fully unfolded, the Mate XT offers a tablet-sized, 10.2-inch display that folds into a format small enough to fit in a pocket. Huawei has claimed that unfolded, the Mate XT is the thinnest smartphone in the world at just 3.6mm. Despite this, the phone still packs in a 5.5x telephoto lens in its camera system. It also has an ultra-wide lens.

Huawei said the Mate XT's design is possible because of what it has described as an "engineering breakthrough" in its hinge design, which folds both inward and outward.

The Mate X6 will cost R44 999, or between R1 599 and R1 799/month over 36 months from the operators. c 2025 NewsCentral Media