The big picture: Scheduling a smartphone announcement on the same day as Apple's iPhone annual iPhone unveiling is something most competitors avoid, and for good reason. However, Chinese tech conglomerate Huawei sees it as an opportunity to upstage Cupertino.

Huawei is planning to host a product launch event on September 10 at 2:30 p.m. local Beijing time, or around 11:30 p.m. Pacific on September 9 – the same day as Apple's scheduled iPhone announcement. Apple sent out media invites for the event with the tagline, "It's Glowtime," last week.

On Weibo, Richard Yu, the head of Huawei's consumer and automotive team, said they have an innovative and disruptive product to showcase that others have thought of but can't yet produce. It has taken five years but Huawei has finally "turned science fiction into reality."

The device in question is believed to be a tri-fold smartphone, perhaps dubbed the Mate XT. Rumors suggest the phone could feature up to a 10-inch display when fully unfolded. No word yet on pricing, but you can be sure it will not come cheap.

Samsung, Honor, and Huawei have all reportedly been working toward a multi-fold smartphone, and it appears as if Huawei is going to win that race. While it will likely be technically impressive, not everyone is sold on the concept of flexible displays due to lingering durability concerns. Adding a second foldable section is only going to exacerbate those concerns.

Back in late 2022, the FCC banned the sale and import of products made by five Chinese tech firms (including Huawei) to shield consumers from what it called "unacceptable risks to national security." Even if the tri-fold phone becomes a hit internationally, it will not be available in the US.

Smartphone innovation has slowed in recent years as most manufacturers have worked on fine-tuning established formulas. Foldable display technology was once seen as the next big thing in mobile, but durability and practicality concerns persist. High prices have also kept devices out of the hands of many potential buyers.

Image credit: Omid Armin

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