Between the afternoon of September 7 and the early hours of September 10, a significant event is set to unfold in the smartphone industry: Huawei, Xiaomi, and Apple will sequentially launch their flagship foldable smartphones, all priced above 10,000 yuan, within a mere 72-hour span. This marks a historic moment, as it's the first instance in the seven-year history of foldable phones that these three tech giants will go head-to-head in the same week, targeting the same premium price segment.

Huawei's Mate XT 2 boasts a U-shaped dual inward folding mechanism, showcasing the brand's innovative approach to design. Apple, making its debut in the foldable phone arena, opts for a horizontal inward folding design, placing a strong emphasis on enhancing the iOS ecosystem experience. Meanwhile, Xiaomi's 18 Fold adopts a mid-folding design and stands out as the first to be powered by its proprietary Xuanjie O3 chip and domestically produced LPDDR6 memory, highlighting Xiaomi's commitment to technological self-reliance.

In the backdrop of rising prices for key components across the consumer electronics supply chain, all three models are positioned in the premium bracket, with prices exceeding 10,000 yuan. Apple's offering is anticipated to retail between 16,000 and 18,000 yuan, Huawei's top-tier variant could surpass the 30,000 yuan mark, and Xiaomi's entry starts at just over 10,000 yuan.

The entry of Apple into the foldable phone market is poised to reshape the competitive landscape. Counterpoint Research forecasts that by 2026, Samsung, Apple, and Huawei will collectively command over 80% of the market share. Moreover, Apple is expected to vie for the influential role of defining and setting benchmarks for foldable flagships. With Apple's involvement, the adoption rate of foldable smartphones is anticipated to accelerate, with factors such as supply chain maturity emerging as pivotal in determining the industry's future trajectory.