In a landmark announcement at Computex 2025, Chinese tech powerhouse Huawei unveiled its most ambitious computing product to date the MateBook Fold Ultimate Design. Touted as the world’s first 18-inch foldable OLED laptop, this device marks a significant milestone not only for Huawei’s hardware division but also for the broader PC industry, which has long awaited a truly practical and powerful foldable computing solution. With global tech players closely observing, Huawei has placed its stake as a serious contender in redefining the form and function of future laptops. More than just a showcase of technical flair, this launch is a clear signal of Huawei’s strategic intent to move beyond reliance on foreign technology ecosystems.
Engineering Marvel: Where Form Meets Function
The MateBook Fold Ultimate Design is a testament to what cutting-edge materials science and design innovation can achieve. At the heart of the device is its ability to transition seamlessly between a full-sized 18.3-inch display and a compact 13.3-inch folded form, giving users the versatility of a desktop monitor and the portability of an ultraportable notebook in one product. This transformation is made possible by Huawei’s proprietary aerospace-grade hinge system, which maintains a remarkably low profile while offering the structural integrity to withstand more than 100,000 folds without degradation. Despite the sheer size of the display, the device weighs just 1.16 kg and measures 7.3 mm when unfolded, making it lighter than many traditional 13-inch laptops. This emphasis on both elegance and endurance positions the MateBook Fold as a luxury-class innovation that bridges the gap between futuristic aesthetics and robust functionality.
Display Excellence: Visual Brilliance Redefined
The foldable OLED screen is not just a gimmick it’s an industry-defining component that delivers immersive, high-fidelity visuals. With a 3.3K resolution (2880 x 1920), 10-bit color depth, HDR Vivid certification, and support for the P3 wide color gamut, the display offers cinematic clarity and color precision that creative professionals and media enthusiasts will deeply appreciate. Capable of reaching peak brightness up to 1600 nits, the screen ensures superb visibility even in outdoor or high-glare environments. Whether editing ultra-high-resolution video, reading detailed reports, or multitasking across multiple apps, users will find the expansive screen to be a game-changer. The inclusion of touch functionality and pen support further amplifies its appeal, making the MateBook Fold an ideal tool for digital illustrators, architects, and designers who require both performance and precision.
HarmonyOS 5: Intelligent, Adaptable, Seamless
The software experience offered by HarmonyOS 5 elevates this device beyond hardware innovation into a unified, AI-enhanced productivity environment. Unlike traditional operating systems that struggle to adapt to foldable hardware, HarmonyOS 5 has been natively optimized to work with changing form factors. When the MateBook transitions from folded to unfolded mode, the OS intelligently reorganizes windows, aligns active apps, and reconfigures display zones to ensure continuity. Users can run up to four active applications simultaneously across multiple windows, drag and drop content between screens, and even engage in real-time app mirroring with other HarmonyOS-powered devices like Huawei smartphones or tablets. The UI is sleek, fluid, and responsive with features like adaptive refresh rates and context-sensitive controls that reflect the maturity of Huawei’s ecosystem. The growing availability of native apps within HarmonyOS’s own app store further reduces reliance on Windows or Android-based solutions.
Kirin X90: Symbol of China’s Semiconductor Ambition
Perhaps the most geopolitically significant component of the MateBook Fold is the Kirin X90 chipset, manufactured by SMIC on a 5nm process node a remarkable feat given the U.S. trade sanctions that have sought to curb Huawei’s access to cutting-edge semiconductor technologies. The Kirin X90 features a combination of high-performance CPU cores, AI accelerators, and a powerful integrated GPU, delivering computing performance that rivals the best consumer chips on the market. Its architecture is particularly optimized for AI and machine learning tasks, enabling intelligent background processes, real-time translation, voice recognition, and more all processed locally without cloud reliance. The inclusion of advanced neural processing units (NPUs) also supports high-end creative workloads, including 4K video editing, 3D rendering, and simulation modeling, making it a capable machine not just for everyday use but for technical and professional applications.
A Device for the Elite Digital Nomad
With a starting price of ¥23,999 (approximately ₹2.85 lakh or $3,350), the MateBook Fold Ultimate Design is clearly positioned as a premium-tier computing device. It is not meant for the average consumer, but rather for a high-demand, tech-savvy audience think digital nomads, C-level executives, developers, and power users. Huawei’s marketing emphasizes lifestyle and productivity, showcasing the device in settings ranging from boardrooms to airport lounges. Its modular versatility enables it to be used with detachable magnetic keyboards, styluses, and desktop docking stations, providing a consistent user experience across various environments. For businesses, it offers a compact and secure portable workstation; for creatives, it’s a canvas with infinite flexibility.
Security, Connectivity, and Personalization
Security is deeply embedded into the device’s fabric, aligning with enterprise-level expectations. Beyond biometric features like in-display fingerprint authentication and IR facial recognition, Huawei introduces a “privacy shield mode” that uses AI to detect unauthorized viewers and dims sensitive content accordingly. There’s also a secure enclave within HarmonyOS that stores biometric data and encrypts sensitive documents. On the connectivity side, the laptop includes Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and optional 5G connectivity, ensuring seamless cloud access and collaboration on the move. Users can also define multiple work profiles, each with its own apps, security settings, and cloud sync preferences ideal for professionals who balance corporate and personal workflows on a single device.
Battery Innovation and Power Efficiency
Powering a foldable OLED screen and high-performance chipset is no small feat, and Huawei has met this challenge with an 84Wh battery paired with 90W fast charging. Real-world battery tests suggest up to 12 hours of continuous productivity, thanks to intelligent power management algorithms built into HarmonyOS. These AI-driven optimizations adjust refresh rates, disable background apps when idle, and modulate display brightness in real time. Fast charging capabilities mean users can recharge up to 70% in just 45 minutes, reducing downtime and increasing on-the-go reliability a critical feature for mobile professionals who need dependable uptime in transit.
Market Launch and Strategic Caution
While the MateBook Fold is currently exclusive to the Chinese market, industry watchers believe this is a calculated rollout strategy. Huawei has cited regulatory environments, trade dynamics, and global chipset constraints as key reasons for delaying an international launch. However, the company is actively exploring export options for markets where Huawei has retained strong brand presence, such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and select African regions. Localized HarmonyOS variants with multilingual support and region-specific app integrations are reportedly under beta testing. The success of this product in China could serve as a springboard for gradual global expansion, contingent on political and supply chain considerations.
Disruptive Potential and Industry Repercussions
The implications of this launch extend far beyond Huawei’s product catalog. By introducing a vertically integrated computing product featuring homegrown chips, proprietary software, and hardware innovation Huawei has sent a strong message to rivals like Lenovo, HP, Apple, and Dell. It challenges the existing industry norm where laptops rely on fragmented supply chains and third-party operating systems. Huawei’s model more closely resembles that of Apple, but with the added advantage of modular flexibility and a rapidly growing base of cross-device connectivity. If successful, this could trigger a paradigm shift in how PCs are conceptualized and manufactured in the next five to ten years.
The Future of Foldable Computing
In many ways, the MateBook Fold Ultimate Design feels like a glimpse into the future of computing. It challenges the conventional wisdom that productivity must be tethered to rigid, immobile devices. Instead, it presents a new vision: one where the laptop is adaptive, intelligent, borderless, and deeply integrated into a larger ecosystem. As foldables become more durable and cost-effective, and as operating systems like HarmonyOS mature, it’s likely that foldable computing will become the new standard not just for professionals, but eventually for students, educators, and the general public. Huawei, it seems, is leading that charge.
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