Huawei unveils new foldable Pura X Max amid rising cost pressures

Huawei Technologies Co has unveiled its latest foldable smartphone, Pura X Max, with a starting price of 10,999 yuan ($1,613), as the Chinese tech company continues showing strong momentum in the country despite fierce competitions.

The move came after Huawei led China's foldable smartphone market with a 71.8 percent market share in 2025, according to data from the market research company International Data Corp.

The Pura X Max, unveiled in Shenzhen on Monday, features a dual-surface broad design, operating as a tablet when unfolded and a compact device when folded.

Yu Chengdong, Huawei's executive director and chairman of Huawei's terminal business group, said the earlier Pura X model had accumulated over 1.5 million units shipped as of March this year, signaling strong consumer demand for the broad-fold category.

Huawei also said that HarmonyOS-powered devices have surpassed 55 million units.

In a rare public acknowledgment, Yu said rising component costs — particularly memory chips driven by AI-related demand — are putting pressure on smartphone pricing.

"Costs have increased a lot now. If we can't sustain it, we may also raise prices," Yu said.

He noted that the average cost of producing the Pura 90 series, which were also unveiled at the launch event, has risen by 1,200 to 1,500 yuan per unit, making pricing decisions difficult. Most global smartphone brands, including Samsung, Oppo, Vivo, Honor, Xiaomi, and OnePlus, have already raised prices on both new and existing models, while Huawei and Apple have so far held the line.