Huawei beats Apple, Samsung to market with wide foldable

Huawei has beaten both Apple and Samsung to a new category of smartphone. The Pura X Max, a passport-style wide foldable, went on sale in China today starting at 10,999 yuan (approximately $1,613), making it the first device of its kind that consumers can actually purchase, while its two biggest rivals are still months away from releasing their own versions.

Huawei Pura X Max specifications and price

There are two variants of the Pura X Max device. The base version provides 12GB RAM and 256GB storage capacity, priced at $1,613, or 512GB at $1,800. As for the collector's edition, it has an initial price tag of $1,906 for the 16GB/512GB combo, reaching $2,053 for the 16GB/1TB.

The key distinguishing aspect lies in its orientation. In contrast to regular foldable phones that fold outward into vertical formats like books standing up on a desk, the Pura X Max unfolds horizontally wide as compared to tall. This device features a cover display of a 5.4-inch screen size with up to 3,500 nits of brightness.

In its unfolded form, the Pura X Max has a display size of 7.7 inches at a maximum brightness of 3,000 nits.

The Huawei Pura X Max was designed using the company’s homegrown Kirin 9030 Pro chipset, an important point considering the limitations Huawei faces in terms of access to advanced chip manufacturing facilities. The device has a large 5,300mAh battery, which can be charged using 66 watts wired or 50 watts wirelessly.

It has a three-camera set consisting of a main camera of 50 megapixels with variable aperture, a 50-megapixel telephoto camera, and an ultra-wide of 12.5 megapixels. The phone is powered by HarmonyOS 6.1 and the Huawei M-Pen 3 Mini stylus. Moreover, the phone has artificial intelligence photography with features like pose guidance.

Apple and Samsung lag by months

Rumours of an Apple and Samsung foldable device have been floating around in recent times, but both companies are expected to release such products sometime in the latter half of 2026.