Huawei Mate XT 2 Copies Samsung's Privacy Display — Here's What Changed
Huawei's third trifold steals Samsung's best idea while doubling down on its own folding philosophy.
TL;DR
The Huawei Mate XT 2 launches in China with Samsung's privacy display tech and an inward-folding design borrowed from the Galaxy Fold lineup. It's a fascinating admission that Huawei's original outward-fold approach had real-world problems — and that the company is willing to copy when copying makes sense.
Huawei just dropped its third trifold phone in China, and the Mate XT 2 tells a more interesting story than its spec sheet suggests. The company that pioneered the outward-folding design has quietly adopted Samsung’s inward-folding approach — and borrowed the Korean giant’s privacy display technology while they were at it.
The Samsung features Huawei couldn’t ignore
The privacy display is the headline grab here. Samsung debuted this tech on the Galaxy Z Fold 6, allowing users to narrow the screen’s viewing angle so only the person directly in front of the device can see the content. Huawei’s implementation appears functionally identical, activated through a quick settings toggle.
But the bigger shift is the fold direction. The original Mate XT used Huawei’s signature outward fold, wrapping the display around the exterior of the device. The Mate XT 2 folds inward, protecting the screen when closed — exactly like Samsung’s approach since the original Galaxy Fold.
Why this pivot matters
Outward-folding screens look impressive in marketing photos. They also scratch easier, collect dust on the display surface, and make pocket carry genuinely risky. Huawei spent three generations defending this design philosophy before apparently deciding Samsung had the right idea all along.
The Mate XT 2 still unfolds into a tablet-sized display — roughly 10 inches when fully extended — but now closes with the screen safely inside. That’s a practical win that makes the trifold concept actually usable as a daily driver.
What we know about specs
Huawei hasn’t released full specifications for international audiences, but Chinese pricing starts around ¥19,999 (approximately $2,750 USD). The device runs HarmonyOS 5 and features Huawei’s Kirin 9100 processor, their latest in-house silicon developed without access to TSMC’s most advanced nodes.
Battery capacity reportedly sits around 5,800mAh across the folded sections, with 66W wired charging. The camera system carries over from the original Mate XT with minor computational photography improvements.
The competitive landscape just got messier
Samsung’s rumored trifold — reportedly arriving in early 2027 — now has a direct competitor that’s already adopted Samsung’s own design language. Huawei beat them to market with the trifold form factor, and now they’ve neutralized Samsung’s key differentiators before Samsung can even launch.
For consumers outside China, none of this matters directly. The Mate XT 2 won’t be available in Western markets due to ongoing trade restrictions. But it signals where the foldable category is heading: larger screens, more privacy features, and a clear consensus that inward folding won the durability debate.
The real takeaway
Huawei copying Samsung isn’t embarrassing — it’s pragmatic. The best companies steal good ideas and improve on them. The Mate XT 2 suggests Huawei is more interested in building phones people can actually use than defending design choices that looked cool but wore poorly.
I’m watching to see if Samsung responds with its own trifold at a lower price point. At $2,750, Huawei owns this niche. But if Samsung can deliver a trifold Galaxy at $1,999, the math changes completely.
Ask this post
Ask a question and get an answer pulled only from this article — no outside guessing.