Huawei and Apple bend to a tougher market with foldable phones as memory crunch bites2-MIN READ2-MIN0ListenPublished: 9:30am, 31 Aug 2026Highly anticipated foldable launches from Apple and Huawei Technologies next week are expected to offer a much-needed lifeline to a subdued global smartphone market, which is bracing for an estimated 17 per cent decline in 2026.Apple’s September 9 event has the industry watching closely, with expectations building for its first foldable iPhone to take centre stage alongside standard model refreshes and the keynote debut of new CEO John Ternus.The US tech giant’s biggest product showcase of the year will arrive just two days after Shenzhen-based Huawei unveils the Mate XT 2, an upgrade to its flagship trifold device.Select VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x
SRCSouth China Morning Post
LANGEN
LEANCenter-Right
WORDS119
ENT9
MON · 2026-08-31 · 01:30 GMTBRIEF NSR-2026-0831-107538
NSR-2026-0831-107538News Report·EN·Technology
Huawei and Apple bend to a tougher market with foldable phones as memory crunch bites
Apple and Huawei are set to launch new foldable phones next week, aiming to revitalize a struggling global smartphone market projected to decline by 17% in 2026. Apple's September 9 event is highly anticipated, with its first foldable iPhone expected to be a central focus, alongside standard model updates and a keynote from new CEO John Ternus.
Iris DengSouth China Morning PostFiled 2026-08-31 · 01:30 GMTLean · Center-RightRead · 1 min
South China Morning PostFIG 01
Reading time
1min
Word count
119words
Sources cited
0cited
Entities identified
9entities
Quality score
100%
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Briefing Summary
AI-generatedNEWSAR · AI
Apple and Huawei are set to launch new foldable phones next week, aiming to revitalize a struggling global smartphone market projected to decline by 17% in 2026. Apple's September 9 event is highly anticipated, with its first foldable iPhone expected to be a central focus, alongside standard model updates and a keynote from new CEO John Ternus. This showcase follows Huawei's unveiling of the Mate XT 2, an updated trifold device, two days prior. These launches are seen as a crucial boost for the industry during this period of market contraction.
Confidence 0.85Claims 4Entities 9
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Article analysis
Model · rule-basedFraming
Technology
Economic Impact
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CalmNeutralAlarmist
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0.60 / 1.00
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Key claims
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Huawei will unveil the Mate XT 2, an upgrade to its trifold device, two days before Apple's event.
factual
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1.00
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Huawei and Apple are launching new foldable phones next week.
factual
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1.00
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The global smartphone market is expected to decline by 17% in 2026.
statistic
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Apple's September 9 event is expected to feature its first foldable iPhone.
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0.80
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Full report
1 min read · 119 words§ 05
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Keywords & salience
8 termsfoldable phones
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smartphone market
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huawei
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apple
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memory crunch
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iphone
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global smartphone market
0.50
mate xt 2
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Topic connections
Interactive graph Network visualization showing 12 related topics
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