The durability test of Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design shows an essential flaw

Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design was launched by the company in September as the world’s first mass-market triple-folding smartphone, although it is (as of now) only available in China. Three screens are included that can be folded in a Z-style. However, a recent smartphone durability test conducted by a popular YouTuber shows that the screens may be more susceptible to scratches compared to standard smartphones or even regular foldable models.

Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design Durability Test

Before delving into the durability test of Huawei’s triple foldable smartphone, YouTuber Zack Nelson, popularly known by his alias JerryRigEverything, said, to behave unpacking. The Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design is one of the most expensive production smartphones in the world with a starting price of CNY 19,999 (approximately Rs. 2,36,700) and comes with a lot of goodies including a carbon fiber body, a 66W power adapter with two USB ports. Type-C cables, an 88W car charger and a pair of Huawei FreeBuds 5.

In terms of durability, the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design appears to be scratching at level two on the Mohs hardness scale and has deeper grooves at razor-edge level 3. While this will certainly happen due to the soft plastic folding screen’s laminated structure, the test also found it to be highly susceptible to scratches, even by fingernails. The scratches caused by the fingernails appear more clearly once the screen is turned off.

While the scratches caused by the razor blade are no different from the durability of other foldable smartphones, such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, which suffered scratches at similar levels, the scratches caused by the fingernails on the Mate XT Ultimate Design appear more prominent once the screen is disabled.

Being a triple smartphone, the hinge mechanism would be another weak point of the Mate XT Ultimate Design. While folding the screens incorrectly will trigger a warning, the smartphone was bent by the YouTuber without too much effort, suggesting that owning such an eloquent device may require extra care. Meanwhile, one of the folded edges of the screen is always exposed to the elements when fully folded.