Huawei and Xiaomi each introduced new foldable smartphones for Chinese consumers this week, with both launches arriving just days before Apple's September 9 event, where the company is widely expected to unveil its first foldable iPhone.

Huawei unveiled the Mate XT2 in China on Monday, with sales set to begin September 10. Xiaomi followed later that same day with its own high-end foldable, the 18 Fold. Apple's event is scheduled for Wednesday, meaning both Chinese manufacturers will have already shown their devices before Apple introduces its own phone, which is expected to be called the iPhone Ultra.

New foldables, and the processors inside them, say a lot

Huawei's Mate XT2 folds twice into a tablet-sized device with a 10.2-inch display. It features a redesigned hinge aimed at addressing the crease issue that has plagued foldable screens since the format emerged in 2019, when Samsung shipped the first commercially available foldable. The phone packs a roughly 6,000mAh battery and runs HarmonyOS 7.

Xiaomi's 18 Fold is priced at around 8,999 yuan and is powered by the company's custom Xring O3 processor. The premium foldable has a 7.6-inch folding display, a 200MP main camera, and 67W wired charging.

The Mate XT2 runs Huawei's new Kirin 9050 Pro, a chip built on the company's own newer process. The part marks the return of a Huawei flagship chip six years after the Mate 40 series — and Washington's export controls were intended to stop the company from producing such chips entirely. The development is a focal point in the broader US-China standoff over semiconductor technology, where export restrictions on advanced chipmaking have pushed Chinese firms to build out domestic design and manufacturing capability.

Xiaomi has taken a similar route with the Xring O3, its own custom silicon processor. Two Chinese manufacturers are now shipping premium foldable phones powered by domestically designed chips.

Apple's first attempt at twice the price

The foldable iPhone is expected to sell for more than $2,000, roughly twice what Xiaomi charges for its device in China. Reports on the specifications point to a 7.8-inch inner display and a 5.3-inch cover screen, with no telephoto lens and Touch ID integrated into the power button instead of Face ID.

Apple has entered product categories late before and still managed to turn a profit, having lagged behind rivals on large-screen phones, 5G, and stylus support — each time arriving later with more polished versions.

Foldable smartphones, however, may test this strategy more severely. The production style is already seven years old, and competitors have developed manufacturing expertise that Apple's first attempt could find difficult to match easily.

Despite the high price of Apple's foldable, Citi expects the company to sell about 7.3 million iPhone Ultra units by the first quarter of 2027.

What to watch next is Apple's September 9 event itself, where pricing and release timing will show how directly the iPhone Ultra aims at the premium segment Huawei and Xiaomi now occupy in China.

China is the only market for this contest

Huawei's phones ship without Google services, which keeps them out of Europe and the United States in volume, so the Mate XT2 will compete against Apple only within China.

Huawei led smartphone shipments in China in the second quarter of 2026, at 23% against Apple's 18%, up from 18% a year earlier.

On foldables specifically, Huawei held 68% of Chinese shipments last quarter, according to Smart Analytics Global. Huawei has not announced a global release for the Mate XT2, which carries an expected price close to 20,000 yuan, or about $2,750.