What you need to know
- Reports from a Huawei insider on Weibo suggest the company will host a conference in February to launch a new small foldable phone.
- While the insider doesn't specify the form factor, the device is expected to be a compact foldable, potentially resembling a flip phone.
- The upcoming Huawei foldable may belong to the Pocket-series, and indications point towards its exclusivity to the Chinese market.
Huawei has been making waves with its foldable phones in China, and word is that the company is launching a new one next month.
A Huawei insider has revealed on Weibo that the Chinese phone maker is planning to hold an event in February to ring in the New Year and introduce a "new small foldable product" with the codename "LEM," as per Gizmochina.
According to sources, pre-orders for the device might kick off right after the Chinese New Year on February 10.
We're still in the dark about the details of the upcoming device. But rumor has it that this new foldable phone is set to pack Huawei's in-house 5G Kirin chipset.
According to IThome, which got the scoop from Weibo, the mystery handset will be positioned in mid-range territory like Huawei's Nova series.
The insider didn't say whether Huawei's next foldable is a Fold or Flip-style. But given the buzz about it being a "small" foldable, it's safe to assume that this is a flip phone. Plus, it seems like this upcoming device will be exclusive to China.
Huawei has a trio of foldable smartphone lineups on the market. The Huawei Mate X and Mate Xs are the high-end models. The X models flip open like a book, while the Xs variants fold outward.
Meanwhile, the Huawei Pocket lineup is a flip-style smartphone similar to the Galaxy Z Flip lineup. So, the upcoming Huawei foldable is likely to belong to that series.
The Huawei Pocket S debuted in late 2022 as the latest model on the block. But Huawei is not making these releases a yearly ritual, unlike the rest of the Android OEMs.
We don't know much about it yet, but the fact that it's even in the works is pretty exciting. Here's to hoping it's a solid return to form for Huawei.
