Apple Debuts First Foldable iPhone Duo as Huawei Keeps Foldable Lead

Huawei's Mate X7, launched on Nov. 25, 2025, is described by Leiphone as the culmination of its dual-fold line. The phone combines an ultra-reliable Xuanwu fold architecture, a second-generation Red Maple imaging system, and HarmonyOS large-screen AI in a thin and light body, the report said. It starts at 11,999 yuan. Leiphone said that price is below the iPhone Duo's, without giving the iPhone Duo's price.

Huawei has also cut the entry price of the Mate X6. The report said the Mate X6 now starts at 8,999 yuan, based on a 9,999 yuan price plus a 1,000 yuan official website coupon, and comes with a limited-time one-year HUAWEI Care+ service valued at 999 yuan. Leiphone wrote that the price moves the Mate X6 into the price range of Apple's bar phones.

The report traced Huawei's foldable form-factor history to 2019, when the first Mate X launched with an outward-folding design. Huawei later switched to an inward fold with the Mate X2, which established the underlying architecture for horizontal large folds, according to the report. Later generations focused on making the devices lighter, thinner, and more reliable, while the Mate X6 further strengthened reliability and imaging. Beyond horizontal folds, Huawei has released vertical-folding Pocket phones, wide folds, and tri-folds, giving it a matrix of four form factors. Leiphone said Huawei became the first Chinese vendor to complete a full form-factor lineup.

The report focused on hinges as a key difference. It said Huawei's Mate X7 uses an Xuanwu waterdrop hinge, 2,350 MPa super-strong rocket steel, and a five-arc-arm design, all refined across multiple product generations and tested by large-scale users. The iPhone Duo's hinge design has not yet been through a full market-validation cycle, according to Leiphone. The report said the gap in form-factor innovation is visible in daily opening and closing, not just in a launch presentation.

Leiphone also described how Huawei's large-screen software is meant to work after the device is unfolded. It said the Mate X7's folded width is similar to mainstream bar phones, making it familiar for users switching from a standard smartphone. When opened, features such as split-screen linkage, instant annotation, multitasking, and the Xiaoyi AI agent's cross-app scheduling allow the large screen to handle tasks, the report said. These are experiences that bar phones cannot provide, according to the report.

Apple's entry has brought foldable phones back into public view, a positive for the industry, Leiphone wrote. But the report argued that innovation is not a single launch but a continuing path, and it concluded that for consumers choosing a foldable phone, the market has already answered in Huawei's favor.

Editor's Summary

Apple's first foldable iPhone Duo entered the market on Sept. 10, 2026, while Huawei's Mate X7 and earlier foldables retain a lead supported by IDC's 60% China market share in Q1 2026. Huawei has built a full form-factor lineup since 2019 and has priced the Mate X7 from 11,999 yuan and the Mate X6 from 8,999 yuan, according to Leiphone. The report says Huawei's hinge and large-screen experience have longer market validation, while Apple's foldable hinge has not completed a full validation cycle.