Huawei Copies Samsung’s Privacy Display in Its Latest Trifold

The latest trifold phone from Huawei, the Mate XT 2, has confirmed suspicions that the company is borrowing from Samsung’s playbook when it comes to foldable designs. The Mate XT 2 adopts not only the inward-folding form factor from Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold but also a crucial feature: a privacy-enhancing display.

This move raises questions about Huawei’s commitment to innovation and its willingness to follow in the footsteps of its competitors. For years, Huawei has prided itself on pushing boundaries in the tech world, often with results that leave rivals struggling to catch up. However, with the recent restrictions imposed on Huawei due to trade tensions between China and the US, the company may be opting for a more incremental approach to innovation.

Huawei’s decision to include a privacy-enhancing display is particularly noteworthy, given that this feature was first seen on Samsung’s high-end Galaxy S26 Ultra. It remains unclear whether Huawei has finally acknowledged the importance of prioritizing user data protection in its foldable designs or if it’s simply following suit.

The history of foldable phone development reveals a pattern: companies like Royole and Xiaomi attempted to pioneer new form factors with innovative designs that often didn’t live up to their promises. Samsung’s Galaxy Fold was one of the first mainstream successes, but its high price point and limited availability ensured it wouldn’t become a mass-market phenomenon.

Huawei’s Mate X series has flown under the radar despite being among the earliest adopters of foldable formats. With this latest iteration, the company may be finding its footing – albeit on borrowed ground. As prices come down and more players enter the fray, we can expect to see a wide range of designs and features emerge in the coming months.

The market’s acceptance of these new form factors is clear, but how much will other manufacturers invest in truly innovative foldable designs? Will they too opt for incremental improvements over bold new directions? The pace of innovation often measures companies’ ability to iterate on existing ideas rather than pushing boundaries. In this case, Huawei’s decision to follow Samsung’s lead may be seen as either clever pragmatism or a missed opportunity for true disruption.

As we move forward into the world of foldables, one thing is certain: only time will tell who’ll emerge victorious in this battle of wits and design languages. But with Huawei and Samsung locked in a competition to innovate, it’s anyone’s game. The future of foldable design may depend on how manufacturers respond to these developments – will they seize the initiative or play catch-up?