Rumors have been circulating that Huawei is testing a tri-folding device, but Huawei itself has not made any official announcement so far. Still, a photo has surfaced showing Huawei Chairman and former CEO Richard Yu using what appears to be a device similar to a tri-folding phone.
In the device, there appears to be a small cutout roughly in the middle of the left side for a selfie camera. Unlike typical folding smartphones such as the Huawei Mate X5, vivo X Fold3 Pro, and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 — which have a single fold — this device appears to have two folds. The leak, which came from Digital Chat Station on the Chinese social network Weibo, will help clarify whether reports of a tri-folding smartphone about to hit the market are actually true.
Foldable devices have been part of the smartphone world for about half a decade now, yet they still make up only around 2 percent of the smartphone market. Against that backdrop, it will be interesting to see how tri-folding devices manage to attract users.
The tri-folding device shown in the photo is likely a prototype. According to rumors, the device has two hinges that allow it to fold both inward and outward. Its screen is said to be around 10 inches, and the phone is reportedly somewhat thicker than a typical smartphone. Leaks also suggest the tri-folding device will feature a Kirin 9 series chipset, and that it could be introduced before Huawei’s Mate 70.