Huawei CEO Richard Yu has been spotted showing off what is seen as a new category of foldable devices. In recent leaks, the CEO has been captured holding what clearly appears to be a Huawei/Honor device. It appears exceptionally slim when unfolded, but a tad chunky when folded. Despite the blurry spy shots we’ve seen in previous reports, the real flex is when it unfolds, as this isn’t the usual type of double-fold foldable phone, but a tri-fold one, meaning it actually unfolds into a tablet. While many have shown off such devices (as demo units), a tri-fold device still falls into the super cool sci-fi category. Now, a report suggests that the phone could be launching soon.
According to a report by MyDrivers, Huawei CEO Richard Yu confirmed the foldable’s imminent launch. The report claims that Yu told an executive when he took delivery of his Hongmeng Zhixing EV in Shanghai that the foldable device he’s been showing off in recent weeks would be unveiled as early as September this year.
The news comes as a surprise considering that most smartphone manufacturers are still perfecting their book-style foldable phones (including Samsung and Xiaomi). Meanwhile, Google has finally launched its first globally available foldable phone, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Huawei has been topping the foldable phone market lately, largely because it has managed to launch book-style foldable phones that rival regular flagship phones in terms of thinness and weight. The upcoming Honor Magic V3 (global variant) is expected to break most of the records in terms of thinness and weight, as brands like Samsung have struggled to find a workable formula, according to a recent report.
Going back to the tri-fold that was spotted in the CEO’s hands in several blurry spy photos, it does seem a bit chunky compared to most book-style foldables when folded. However, it appears to unfold into a large tablet-like device thanks to the dual hinges. This display is said to be as large as 10 inches according to previous leaks.
Huawei recently launched its Honor Magic V3 in China, which is currently the thinnest production foldable phone available. The global variant is expected to be very similar with minor changes. The phone is just 9.2mm thin when folded and 4.35mm when unfolded. It also weighs 226 grams, only slightly heavier than the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max which weighs 221 grams.
