On Thursday, Huawei launched the Huawei Pocket 2, a sleek flip foldable phone seemingly targeted at a young, predominantly female demographic, hitting the shelves after a 16-month gap since the previous generation. The Pocket 2 stands out as the industry’s first foldable flagship to support messaging via China’s Beidou satellite, facilitating communication in regions lacking ground network signal. The device also represents Huawei’s first foldable device equipped with its self-developed Kirin chipset.
Why it matters: Foldable smartphones, an emerging product range in the smartphone industry, have huge market potential in the Chinese market compared to traditional models – although overall phone shipments in China saw a decline in 2023, the foldable category experienced a sharp rise in sales.
Details: Alongside two-way satellite messaging through the Beidou satellite, Huawei claims the Pocket 2 is the world’s first flip foldable smartphone with four cameras on its cover and featuring a self-developed rocket-steel material water-drop hinge.
- The Pocket 2 is equipped with Huawei’s Kirin 9000S chip, a 7nm processor also featured in the company’s latest flagship phones. Paired with 12GB of RAM, it offers storage options ranging from 256GB to 1TB.
- The Pocket 2 boasts a Xuanwu water-drop hinge, which increases its flatness by 62%, and a double-arm lever gear that enhances support force by 41%, according to the company. Huawei states that the rocket-steel design improves drop resistance by 112%.
- Huawei has equipped the interior with a 6.94-inch foldable OLED screen, while the cover features a 1.15-inch circular screen positioned next to the camera island. The 6.94-inch OLED screen offers a resolution of 2,690 x 1,136 pixels and a variable refresh rate from 1Hz to 120Hz, delivering a peak brightness of 2,200 nits.
- The imaging system includes a 50MP main camera (with f/1.6 aperture, OIS), a 12MP ultra-wide macro lens (with f/2.2 aperture), an 8MP periscope telephoto camera (with 3x optical zoom, f/2.4 aperture), and a hyperspectral camera that can detect ultraviolet intensity to provide suggestions on sunscreen protection.
- The Huawei Pocket 2 is available in four color variants: gray, white, purple, and black. The flip phone starts from RMB 7,499 ($1,042) for the standard 256GB model, while the 512GB and 1TB models cost RMB 7,999 ($1,112) and RMB 8,999 ($1,251) respectively.
Context: Chinese consumers are increasingly inclined to try foldable smartphones as related technologies mature and prices become more affordable.
- In 2023, foldable smartphone shipments in China reached around 7 million units, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 114.5%, according to market intelligence firm IDC. Huawei took the top spot in the domestic foldable market last year with a market share of 37.4%, while Oppo secured second place with an 18.3% market share.
