Huawei overtakes Apple and Samsung

Huawei has revealed the design of its new foldable phone, the Huawei Pura X Max, which appears to be ahead of the competition in introducing a wider, more “square” format. This form factor has been associated with rumors of upcoming devices such as Apple’s iPhone Fold and future versions of Samsung’s foldable phones.

There's not much official information about the Pura X Max yet, with the full launch set to take place on April 20th alongside the Pura 90 series. The first images reveal several color variants, including blue, white, orange and black, all featuring a triple rear camera setup. The design theme remains similar to last year's Pura X, with a distinctive split back and various textures.

The new model's special feature is its width. While most foldable phones tend to have narrow screens, Huawei is clearly developing a wider format that allows for a different user experience. The company is not just following trends in this area, but is continuing its own development direction, which was started with the Pura X model.

The previous model was designed as a clamshell phone, which required the device to be flipped to a vertical position when opened. The new Pura X Max acts as a hybrid between the classic “flip” and “book” formats, bringing it closer to early foldable devices like Google’s Pixel Fold and Oppo’s Oppo Find N.

Meanwhile, the competition is still in the works. The first mockups of a foldable iPhone have recently emerged, which is said to have a similar wide design, and Samsung is said to be developing a wider version of the Galaxy Z Fold series. However, both companies are not expected to launch their devices until the second half of the year.

With the Pura X Max, Huawei is indicating that it wants to more actively shape the direction of foldable device development, rather than simply following the biggest players in the market.