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Huawei might have beaten Apple to the folding phone finish line by creating a foldable 'iPad mini'
Huawei CEO Richard Yu has subtly revealed a new foldable device that could resemble the iPad mini— which is sure to turn heads in Cupertino.
- Huawei has teased a new folding phone with a smaller inner display
- This comes after rumors pointed to Apple working on a similar device
- No official information about the folding iPhone has been released yet
Throughout the past year we’ve heard plenty about the long-rumored folding iPhone, but at the time of writing we’re still without any official confirmation or announcement from Apple itself.
Despite this, it seems that rumors alone have inspired one company to produce an Apple-inspired folding phone – though getting ahold of one is an unlikely outcome indeed.
Huawei recently released a teaser on Weibo in which CEO Richard Yu is 'caught' with a new device that looks awfully similar to the iPad mini – albeit with a punch-hole selfie camera embedded in the display.
The new Huawei device, which GSMArena notes may fall into the brand’s Pura or Pocket families, is noticeably smaller than an iPad mini, but may feature a squatter display than a conventional folding phone.
As Innogyan reports, recent Huawei teasers have incorporate the tagline “1610 opens up your imagination [sic]”, which could suggest a laptop-style 16:10 aspect ratio.
This could be a response to rumors that Apple is targeting an iPad mini-type form factor for its first ever foldable device, rather than a flip-phone resembling the iPhone 17 when unfolded
As we recently reported, the latest rumors suggest an inner display size of 7.74 inches for the folding iPhone, not far off the 8.3-inch display found on the current-gen iPad mini.
Though these are just rumors for now, it seems Huawei is eager to get ahead of the game in its home market of China.
And though the phone in the new Huawei teaser may look small, an 8-inch 16:10 display would only measure around 4 inches wide when held vertically – which could fit the profile of the device shown.
Huawei is banned from doing business in the US and has withdrawn from selling phones in the UK and Australia, so it’s overwhelmingly likely this new folding phone won’t pose a threat to Apple in other markets – but I reckon it’ll be enough to turn heads at Apple HQ, as China is a huge market and Huawei’s efforts may inspire copycats elsewhere.
Dropping teasers like this is a known strategy for Huawei’s folding phone releases – the Huawei Mate XT tri-folding phone was also preceded by a number of conspicuously-well shot public photographs.
In any case, we’ll keep you updated with the latest on the rumored folding iPhone and Huawei’s ever-prolific foldable output through our dedicated phones coverage. Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
