Huawei cuts Pura X prices as Samsung and Apple foldables loom

Huawei Technologies cut prices on its widescreen, flip-style Pura X handset over the weekend, as the foldable smartphone market braced for a new wave of high-profile launches from rivals Samsung and Apple.\nThe Shenzhen-based smartphone giant said it was trimming as much as 800 yuan (US$114) from the Pura X, which debuted in March.\nThe vertically folding model now starts at 6,899 yuan.\nThe Pura X stands apart from Huawei’s other foldables for its wider 6.3-inch display and 16:10 aspect ratio – closer to a small tablet than a typical phone. It was also Huawei’s first foldable to run HarmonyOS Next, the company’s home-grown operating system that is not compatible with Android.\nThe markdown came as Huawei sought to shore up its position ahead of intensifying competition. Samsung and Apple were both widely expected to be preparing foldables with similarly broad screens – around a 4:3 aspect ratio – according to South Korean outlet ETnews and supply-chain tipsters.\nHuawei, which was among the first to push beyond standard foldables with trifold and widescreen designs, dominated China’s foldable market with nearly 70 per cent share in the third quarter, according to IDC data released last month.\n\nAfter the clamshell-style Pura X, Huawei also released the premium, book-style Mate X7 in China in November and rolled it out globally earlier this month.\nOutside China, Samsung still led the category with a 64 per cent share in the September quarter, while Huawei held 15 per cent, Counterpoint Research said in a report published earlier this month.\nThe foldables segment reached a quarterly record in the third quarter, rising 14 per cent year on year, and accounted for 2.5 per cent of worldwide smartphone shipments, Counterpoint added.\nSamsung has been pressing its advantage with the recent launch of the Galaxy Z TriFold in South Korea, with a global roll-out under way and a US debut expected as early as the first quarter of next year.\nThe bigger catalyst, however, could be Apple’s long-rumoured foldable iPhone, expected in 2026.\nApple’s first foldable model could take more than 22 per cent of unit share and 34 per cent of the category’s value in its first year, IDC senior research director Nabila Popal wrote in a recent report.\nIDC forecast that the foldable market would jump 30 per cent in 2026, fuelled by fresh devices from Samsung and Apple.\n