SHENZHEN, China, April 16, 2026, 05:09 CST
- Huawei’s vmall store has started accepting deposits on the Pura X Max, ahead of its official launch in China scheduled for April 20.
- Huawei’s Pura X cleared 1.5 million units shipped, according to IDC. Over at TrendForce, analysts are betting Apple might jump into foldables sometime in the back half of 2026.
Huawei wants customers in China to pay a 1,000 yuan deposit to reserve the Pura X Max, which is set for an April 20 debut—getting a larger foldable phone out there ahead of Apple’s anticipated move into the category. More than 210,000 people had already registered for the launch, according to the company’s event page.
The timing is key here: Huawei and Apple are shouldering high-end demand, even as the rest of the market loses steam. IDC reports China’s smartphone shipments slipped 3.3% in the first quarter. Huawei still held onto the top spot, shipping over 1.5 million units of its Pura X foldable. Apple, for its part, posted the fastest growth rate among China’s top five vendors.
Huawei is testing the waters now on wider foldable screens, well ahead of Apple’s potential entry. This week, TrendForce projected Apple could jump in by the second half of 2026, possibly grabbing close to a fifth of the market. Counterpoint, for its part, forecasts global foldable shipments will climb 20% this year, fueled in part by anticipation of Apple’s impact on competition.
Huawei hasn’t announced the Pura X Max price yet, though the phone is already up for deposits on its vmall site, where it notes final payments open April 20. According to the launch page, the Pura event is set for 14:30 China time.
Retailer listings and preview images suggest the new handset unfolds into a wide, compact device—closer to a tablet shape, ditching the long, slim style seen in older foldables. According to reports based on Huawei’s listing, the design targets users who want more space for multitasking, reading, or watching video.
The Pura X sheds some light on Huawei’s approach. According to details on its Chinese site, the device is equipped with a 16:10 inner display and a 3.5-inch outer screen—designed so the main panel handles more text or video.
Apple hasn’t shown off a foldable iPhone yet, though chatter keeps circling about an upscale, book-style handset—think device that folds open, not clamshell shut. Last week, Bloomberg put Apple’s timeline at a September launch. Reuters, pulling from Nikkei Asia, flagged ongoing engineering snags that could delay both scaling up production and getting initial units out the door.
“The market is entering a phase where profitability matters more than shipment growth,” said Will Wong, IDC Asia/Pacific’s senior research manager for devices, in a note Wednesday. That’s part of the reason Huawei is pushing ahead with a premium foldable device, despite weaker headline volumes. IDC
The bet comes with caveats. Foldables represent just a sliver of total smartphone sales, memory constraints are already tightening device inventories, and Huawei’s Pura X Max will likely stick to China—its home turf.
Competition isn’t standing still. TrendForce notes Samsung brought a crease-free display to CES 2026. OPPO, on its end, is promoting the Find N6 as nearly crease-free—underscoring how much the fold line matters, right up there with the size of the screen. Still, Huawei’s out in front for now, taking the first shot in the wide-fold segment.
