In a race to bring the latest smartphone technologies in front of the world, foldable displays have managed to gain the prime spotlight. From companies like Samsung to Xiaomi and LG, foldable smartphones have become more than just a novelty. Joining the fleet is Huawei, which confirmed the launch of its first foldable smartphone at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 in Barcelona this month.
Samsung is going to launch its Galaxy X foldable phone in San Francisco on February 20, but Huawei won't let the world's largest smartphone maker enjoy the limelight all alone. Huawei shared a teaser on its official Weibo account, offering a glimpse of its foldable phone along with the launch date just four days after Samsung's big event.
Huawei's plans for a foldable smartphone haven't been a secret. The company had already promised a foldable 5G phone at the MWC event and the teaser image puts a date on it – that is February 24, 2019. The phone's folding display is also shown in the teaser, which confirms it to be a single display panel that folds from the centre.
Huawei's teaser image titled "Connecting the future" holds good for both foldable smartphone as well as 5G integration. There's going to be a lot of 5G-related announcements at the world's biggest mobile gathering in Spain, which will put a value to the namesake feature that has been talked about for a while now.
5G is still far from practical use, as telcos around the world are still testing their networks and building compatible infrastructure. But that hasn't shot down any hype around 5G phones as a lot of OEMs, including OnePlus, LG, Xiaomi, Samsung and others, are expected to launch phones with 5G support this year.
But Huawei making the first move shows its commitment to outgrow its rivals, as it is at the second spot in the world's smartphone market. The foldable 5G phone will only set a precedent for other companies to follow Huawei's lead. The Chinese tech giant, after all, has designed some of the most beautiful phones out there. Stay tuned for updates.
