The highest is 23,999 yuan, and Huawei’s three-fold screen mobile phone is officially unveiled. Yu Chengdong： The technical aspect has been struggling for five years
On September 10th, the technology world was bustling with activity. AtRelease of the first AI (13 hours after the mobile phone iPhone 16 series, Huawei released the world’s first mass-produced and marketed triple-folding screen mobile phone in Shenzhen.
"We have always had a dream of putting a flat panel in our pocket, and today we have achieved it," said Yu Chengdong, executive director of Huawei and chairperson of End Point BG. "But in terms of technology, we have been working hard for five years to achieve this. For the first time, the hinge system achieves internal and external bending, external folding resists stretching, and internal folding resists extrusion, solving the problem of mass production."
It is reported that Huawei Mate XT Extraordinary Master has adopted the "inner fold + outer fold" scheme in design, and is equipped with a double hinge structure, which allows it to achieve a larger screen size and more flexible use in the unfolded state. In terms of price, the 256GB version of the mobile phone is priced at 199,99 yuan, the 512GB version is priced at 21,999 yuan, and the 1TB version is priced at 23,999 yuan. It will be officially launched at 10:8 on September 20.
At noon on September 7, the reservation channel for Huawei’s three-fold product was suddenly opened, and then the number of reservations rose rapidly. As of now, Huawei Mall shows that the number of reservations for the product has exceeded 3 million. Although the price is high, due to the difficulty of mass production, the initial stocking of the product is very tight. A Huawei channel provider in Hebei told the "Daily Economic News" reporter: "The rule in Hebei is that large stores and individual retailers who have contributed to share the goods. Others should not be available. It may be a little more, but it is estimated that it is also in the single digits." A staff member at a Huawei authorized store in Futian, Shenzhen, said: "The experience store may not have the goods to arrive, so the reservation cannot be made."
The first three-fold screen mobile phone was officially unveiled
Five years ago, Huawei released the first generation of folding screen mobile phone Huawei Mate X. At that time, products priced as high as 16,999 yuan could only be owned by a small number of people. Five years later, except that almost all leading mobile phone manufacturers have added folding screen product lines. Whether it is technology or cost, folding screen mobile phones have become mature, and the problems of "thick", "heavy" and "expensive" in the early stage of folding screen mobile phones have also been largely solved.
However, mobile phone manufacturers are far from stopping exploring the form of folding screen products. On the afternoon of September 10, Huawei released the first tri-folding screen mobile phone on the market, which can reach a 10.2-inch screen in the tri-fold state and be as thin as 3.6 mm when unfolded. From the perspective of folding scheme, Huawei currently has three types of inner folding screen, outer folding screen and vertical folding screen, which should also be one of the research and development foundations of its tri-folding screen mobile phone.
It is reported that the three-fold screen mobile phone introduces a new interaction pattern. For example: one-fold can meet daily quick operations, such as making phone calls; two-fold can efficiently process a variety of information; three-fold large-screen experience can be used as a tablet. In terms of configuration, Huawei Mate XT Extraordinary Master supports 10-speed variable aperture, has a periscope telephoto lens, and supports up to 5.5 times optical zoom. In terms of AI, Xiaoyi is equipped with a Pangu large model and has system-level AI capabilities.
Behind these large-screen experiences, the technical challenge of the triple-folding screen mobile phone is not easy, testing the manufacturer’s ability to manufacture such a complex product. "It is very difficult for a screen to bend inside and outside, and at the same time it is even more difficult to ensure anti-extrusion, anti-stretching and durability," said Yu Chengdong. "In this regard, Huawei pioneered the Tiangong hinge system, and achieved internal and external bending for the first time through breakthroughs in core components such as hinges and screens."
In the opinion of Guo Tianxiang, research manager of IDC China, "the processing technology of the three-fold (screen) is relatively high, the service life is a big challenge, and the assembly and processing yield of the whole machine is not high". In fact, compared with the two-fold product, the three-fold technology has many difficulties, such as screen, hinge, software system adaptation, power consumption and heat generation.
In addition to Huawei, the "Daily Economic News" reporter noticed that other mobile phone manufacturers are also accelerating the layout of three-fold screen mobile phones. On August 29, Tecno, a subsidiary of Transsion, released its three-fold screen concept mobile phone Phantom Ultimate 2. According to the official introduction of Transsion, the thickness of this new phone can be reduced to 11 mm in the folded state, and the screen is equipped with a 6.48-inch main display screen. After it is fully unfolded, the internal display screen can be expanded to 10 inches, providing a visual experience close to that of a tablet computer. On the other hand, Samsung initially showed the concept of its three-fold solution as early as 2021; Honor also has the ability to launch a three-fold screen mobile phone at the technical level. " In the future, the commercialization time will be determined according to consumer demand. The three folds are not a technical issue, but a matter of commercial choice. "Honor CEO Zhao Mingzeng said.
It can be seen that some mobile phone manufacturers are poised to take off, so will the next three-fold screen mobile phone become a sub-category growth category of folding screen mobile phones? In this regard, Guo Tianxiang said that the three-fold screen mobile phone is difficult to become the main growth point due to high technical requirements, low yield, high price, and few participants. "At present, only Huawei can commercially implement the three-fold (screen), and only this one in the short term. Huawei can achieve real listing mainly through long-term R & D investment and technology accumulation, which is also a demonstration of its own technical strength. Others are still in the laboratory stage. At present, the entire folding screen mobile phone in the Chinese market is only 10 million (Taiwan) shipments a year, and the market 280 million (Taiwan) throughout the year. For a category that has been developed for five years, the penetration rate is still very low, and many manufacturers are in a conservative attitude towards the folding screen market next year. "Guo Tianxiang said.
Class A shared folding screen industry chain is sought after, and many companies disclose related business conditions
The exposure of Huawei’s three-fold screen mobile phone triggered heated debate in the market, and related folding screen concept stocks continued to rise. Among them,(603626.SH, the share price is 10.7 yuan, and the market value is 5.937 billion yuan),(600552.SH, share price 13.98 yuan, market value 13.206 billion yuan),(600114.SH, the share price is 14.97 yuan, and the market value is 9.227 billion yuan), etc. are all concerned by capital markets.
Regarding whether to participate in Huawei’s folding screen supply chain, the announcement released on the evening of September 2 said: "Recently, the company has been listed as a folding screen concept stock by the media. After the company’s self-inspection, the company’s folding screen hinge assembly business has a single customer. As of the date of this announcement, revenue has not yet been formed in 2024. The company expects that the revenue generated by this business during the year will account for less than 1% of the operating income in 2024, and its contribution to the company’s overall revenue in 2024 will be limited."
Also disclosed in the announcement released on the evening of September 3: "Recently, the company has been concerned that the company has been listed as a folding screen concept stock by the media. After the company’s self-examination, the company’s ultra-thin flexible glass (UTG) has generated less than 3% of the overall revenue so far, and it is expected to make a limited contribution to the company’s overall operating income this year."
In addition, some companies have also disclosed their latest situation in the key areas of folding screens. Among them,(300433.SZ, stock price 15.8 yuan, market value 78.733 billion yuan) said on the interactive platform that the company has already laid out the manufacturing process of folding protective screens such as UTG (ultra-thin flexible glass) and CPI (transparent polyimide), and deeply cooperates with major brands for R & D and production. It has the ability to quickly mass-produce flexible screens, back covers, cameras and other structural parts and modules of various materials of folding screen mobile phones. At the same time, according to a supply chain person, it provides back cover glass cover, DECO decorative parts (exclusive supply) and back cover assembly for Huawei’s three-fold screen mobile phones.
(002436.SZ, share price 8.72 yuan, market value 14.733 billion yuan) said that the company’s subsidiary Beijing Xingfei is a supplier of folding screen mobile phones for domestic and Korean mainstream customers, and the supply products involve main board and sub-board, which can be used for triple folding screens. The product process is based on high-order HDI (rigid substrate) and mSAP (semi-additive method) substrates;(300083.SZ, stock price 5.83 yuan, market value 9.706 billion yuan) revealed that the company’s product drilling and tapping machine can be used for the processing of metal structural parts such as three-fold screen mobile phone frame and hinge;(300134.SZ, the share price of 10.61 yuan, the market value of 8.143 billion yuan) revealed that the company’s subsidiary Dafu Fangyuan is the main supplier of the core components of the H company (Huawei) folding screen series mobile phone shaft;(300327.SZ, the share price is 17.71 yuan, and the market value is 6.046 billion yuan) said that the company has a reserve of flexible folding screen related technologies.
Although triple-folding screen products have become a hot market, judging from the cost and yield, the first generation of triple-folding screen products may remain in the "niche early adopter" stage.
Wang Xiaoya, Chief Research Officer of Sigmaintell’s mobile business unit, expects the market size of three-fold screen products to be about 10,000 units this year. Zhou Shibo, an analyst at TrendForce, also holds a similar view. He recently analyzed to reporters that "due to the yield of the broken screen itself, the cost will increase, and the use of composite hinges, the cost of [three-fold screen] is expected to be at least twice. This estimate is based on the situation in the initial mass production stage. The initial shipment volume of three-fold screen mobile phones this year is expected to be only 90,000 to 100,000 units, and it may further grow in the future depending on the market acceptance and application promotion."
It is worth mentioning that today is also the launch time of the flagship product iPhone 16 series. The main highlight of this product is Apple Intelligence. AI can help proofread text, adjust email wording, and make summaries of meeting minutes. This is basically the function that AI apps on the market can achieve, but Apple’s advantage is that its system comes with it. Visual intelligence can recognize things around you through the camera. For example, if you see a poster for a promotional event, you can take a picture, and then the details on the poster (including date, place, time) will be added to the calendar. In addition, Apple’s intelligent voice assistant Siri also supports text input, no longer limited to voice.
Overall, Apple has been emphasizing the realization of system-level intelligence and reshaping the entire user experience, not just a single intelligence, but from the perspective of these AI application scenarios released in iPhone 16, it is more conventional. In fact, many domestic mobile phone manufacturers have launched similar functions, and the reality also shows that these AI functions will not significantly promote sales growth.
Is the steady change of iPhone 16 more attention, or radical innovation of Huawei three folding screen mobile phone is better, still need market test.