TL;DR
- Huawei’s MWC-unveiled MateBook Fold Ultimate Design is now making its retail debut in China.
- The device boasts an 18-inch OLED touchscreen that folds down into a more-traditional 13-inch form factor.
- The laptop builds on existing ones within the same niche category, including the Zenbook Fold 17 and the ThinkPad X1 Fold.
Mobile World Congress 2026 wrapped up over 150 days ago, but the vision that Huawei showed off at the event is still clear as day. The Shenzhen, China-based company unveiled a premium foldable laptop at the event in Barcelona, and the device quickly grabbed a spot on our “Breakthrough” awards list. Now, the laptop is breaking through its prototype perception with a retail debut!
Back in March, we described the model as a “premium foldable laptop with a large 18-inch OLED display that folds into a compact form factor, blurring the line between tablet and traditional notebook.” That still stands true, but now that the device is official, we know a lot more about the Huawei MateBook Fold Ultimate Design (yep, that’s a mouthful), and what truly makes it tick.
Huawei is raising the bar
First things first: No, the futuristic-looking touchscreen foldable laptop isn’t coming to the US. The Huawei ban is still very much in effect. That said, the MateBook Fold could influence other manufacturers and the broader PC market, nudging giants like Dell, ASUS, HP, Lenovo, and others to further invest in said futuristic-looking touchscreen foldable laptop category.
For reference, ASUS already has the Zenbook Fold 17, while Lenovo has the ThinkPad X1 Fold. Both fairly recent devices fall under the niche touchscreen foldable laptop category and have proven that there’s genuine interest in the space. Huawei’s take pushes the category further.
For starters, the MateBook Fold is thinner and lighter than any of the others in the category. It measures in at 14.9mm x 288.5mm x 193.7mm when folded and 7.3mm x 382.5mm x 288.5mm when unfolded. The display measures 13 inches in its folded state and 18 inches when unfolded.
Despite the big display and the underlying folding mechanism, the laptop weighs in at just 1.16kg, making it lighter than the Zenbook Fold 17 and the ThinkPad X1 Fold.
On the spec side, it boasts a peak brightness of 1,600 nits, which is on the higher end when it comes to laptop brightness. Simply put, outdoor legibility shouldn’t really be a concern when using the MateBook Fold.
The same goes for battery life. The touchscreen laptop packs a 74.69 Wh battery, which is impressive considering how thin and light the foldable is.
The MateBook Fold comes in three storage and RAM configurations with varying pricing. There’s the base 24GB/512GB model for ¥24999 ($3,700), the middle-tier 24GB/1TB model for ¥26999 ($3,997), and the top-end 32GB/2TB model for ¥29999 ($4,441). The three available colorways include Radiant Gold, Sky White, and Phantom Black.
The device is powered by an all-new Kirin X90 Plus chipset and runs on HarmonyOS 6.1. According to Huawei, the combination should offer a 25% boost in performance when compared to older MateBooks running HarmonyOS 5. The new processor, however, isn’t the main upgrade here.
The new MateBook Fold now supports Huawei’s M-Pen 3 stylus, which should give the laptop a serious productivity boost. The stylus is included in the package, so there’s no extra expense after purchase.
It comes with a case that can magnetically be attached to the MateBook Fold, making it easier to take the stylus around with you.
Who is the MateBook Fold for?
The MateBook Fold Ultimate Design sounds like the perfect laptop. So what’s the catch here? Well, for starters, it is not available for sale in the US. If you do decide to have it imported, you’ll be paying a premium on top of an already eye-watering price tag. The device starts at ¥24999 ($3,700) and can be as costly as ¥29999 ($4,441).
Durability is another big question mark that only time will truly answer.
Then, there’s the question of practicality. Who is MateBook Fold actually for? Most would be better off paying less for a more traditional premium laptop that offers fewer durability-related concerns with an overall less flashy look to it.
That said, if you don’t mind paying a premium to become an early adopter, the MateBook Fold Ultimate Design might just put you ahead of the curve when it comes to the future of laptops.
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