Huawei Just Beat Apple to the Wide Foldable Phone

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For six years, every book-style foldable phone has followed the same basic template: take a tall, narrow slab, fold it in half, and call it innovation. The inner screens got bigger. The creases got smaller. But the shape never really changed. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold line, Google’s Pixel Fold, and OnePlus Open all open into elongated rectangles that feel like stretched-out phones rather than compact tablets.

Huawei just broke the pattern. The Pura X Max is a book-style foldable that goes wide instead of tall, unfolding into a short, landscape-oriented display that behaves more like an iPad mini than a Galaxy Z Fold. It launches April 20 in China, and the timing is deliberate — both Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide and Apple’s long-rumored iPhone Fold are expected to adopt this exact form factor later this year. Huawei isn’t waiting for them.

Here are eight things worth knowing before the official launch.

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1. It’s the First Wide-Format Book-Style Foldable

Every major book-style foldable phone to date — from Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 to Google’s Pixel Fold — opens into a tall, narrow inner screen. The Pura X Max flips the script. It takes the wide-format concept Huawei first explored with the Pura X clamshell and expands it into a full book-style device. The result is a phone that unfolds into a short, wide canvas that behaves more like a small landscape tablet than a stretched-out phone.

Huawei getting there first matters. When Samsung and Apple launch their own wide foldables later this year, the Pura X Max will already have defined the benchmark.

2. The Inner Display Is a 7.69-Inch WQHD+ Panel

When unfolded, the Pura X Max’s inner display stretches to approximately 7.69 inches with WQHD+ resolution, sitting at roughly a 16:10 aspect ratio. Huawei’s official images show a minimal visible crease, a triple rear camera system in a horizontal pill-shaped module, and selfie cameras on both the inner and outer screens.

The outer cover screen measures around 5.5 inches — short and wide rather than tall and narrow. Those dimensions line up almost exactly with what’s been leaked for Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide (7.6-inch inner, 5.4-inch cover).

3. It Comes in Five Colors With Up to 1TB of Storage

Huawei is offering the Pura X Max in Interstellar Blue, Olive Gold, Phantom Night Black, Vibrant Orange, and Zero Degree White.

RAM and storage break into two tiers:

Standard: 12GB/256GB and 12GB/512GB
Collector’s Edition: 16GB/512GB and 16GB/1TB

The chipset hasn’t been officially confirmed, but reports point to Huawei’s Kirin 9030 series processor.

4. The Wide Format Prioritizes What You Do With the Phone Open

Traditional book-style foldables create awkward black bars when watching video and feel cramped in landscape mode. The wide format fixes that. A wider, shorter inner display makes the unfolded phone feel more like a proper tablet for media consumption, split-screen multitasking, and gaming.

The trade-off is on the cover screen: that short, wide outer display will require some adjustment for anyone used to reaching the top corners of a tall phone. Every wide foldable coming this year will face this same tension. The format prioritizes what you do with the phone open over what you do with it closed.

5. Pre-Orders Are Open Now With an April 20 Launch

Huawei has started taking reservations through its VMall online store, with a 1,000 yuan deposit required to secure a spot. Full pricing hasn’t been announced yet — the complete payment process opens on April 20 after the official launch event.

The Pura X Max will debut alongside the Huawei Pura 90 Pro series at the same event, giving Huawei a stacked product launch covering both its foldable and traditional flagship lines.

6. Don’t Expect It Outside China

Like most Huawei phones released in recent years, the Pura X Max isn’t expected to be available globally. The device runs HarmonyOS rather than Android with Google Play Services, which limits its appeal in Western markets. But its significance extends well beyond its sales region — Huawei is setting the template that Samsung, Apple, and others will follow. The company was among the first to commercialize foldable phones back in 2019, and it continues to push the form factor forward even as trade restrictions keep its products out of many global markets.

7. Leaked Pricing Puts It Between 10,888 and 12,888 Yuan

Huawei hasn’t announced official pricing yet, but leaked figures suggest the Pura X Max will start at 10,888 yuan (roughly $1,500) for the 12GB/256GB model and top out at 12,888 yuan (roughly $1,780) for the 16GB/1TB Collector’s Edition. That’s a significant jump from the original Pura X, which started at 7,499 yuan.

The price hike likely reflects the larger displays and upgraded internals. For context, Huawei’s Mate X7 book-style foldable occupies a similar price range, which means the Pura X Max could overlap with Huawei’s own flagship foldable line.

8. It Signals That 2026 Is the Year Wide Foldables Go Mainstream

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide is reportedly launching on July 22. Apple’s first foldable iPhone is expected later this year with a similarly wide aspect ratio. Oppo, Honor, and other Chinese manufacturers are also developing wide-format foldables.

Huawei getting there first isn’t just a footnote. It gives the company a head start on refining the design, identifying the ergonomic challenges, and building out software optimizations for the wider canvas. Whether competitors can catch up quickly enough to make Huawei’s lead feel temporary remains the open question heading into the second half of the year.