Huawei and Apple bend to a tougher market with foldable phones as memory crunch bites

Huawei's Mate XT 2 launch in Shenzhen precedes Apple's September 9 event, where the US giant is expected to debut its first foldable iPhone. This timing puts Huawei in direct competition with Apple in the high-end foldable segment, a market where Huawei and Samsung have historically dominated. The introduction of a foldable iPhone is projected by IDC to capture 40 percent of the global foldable market by 2027, challenging established Asian players. The real story here is the pressure on Huawei to innovate and maintain its market share against a formidable new entrant. While the foldable market offers a lifeline to a subdued smartphone sector, Huawei's ability to differentiate the Mate XT 2 and appeal to consumers will be critical. The competition intensifies for Asian manufacturers as Apple enters a niche that was once their stronghold, forcing a strategic re-evaluation for companies like Samsung and Huawei in their home markets and beyond.