Huawei’s big-screen folding phone sounds like it's coming soon

We already know that Huawei is working on a foldable phone, but details about it were scarce – until now. 

Thanks to a presentation to mobile networks in South Korea, some additional details about the device have reportedly slipped out, including a claim that the phone has a 5-inch screen when folded but extends to eight inches when unfurled.

That’s according to a source speaking to ETNews, and it’s a size that would likely make it bigger than the Samsung Galaxy X, as that phone is set to be only 4.6 inches when closed and 7.3 inches when unfolded.

The source also said that Huawei’s phone works with 5G and “was more complete than expected,” hinting that it would be launching soon. 

In fact, the article claims that the handset will be announced at MWC 2019 in February, though it might not hit stores until June, as extensive testing on 5G networks will be required first and no commercial 5G networks have launched yet.

A limited launch

What’s not clear at this stage is whether the folding phone will be available outside South Korea. 

Given that this is where Huawei chose to show it off and that South Korea is likely to be among the first countries to launch a 5G service (probably in early 2019), it could be that the handset won’t be widely available elsewhere.

Then again, there’s no reason the phone couldn’t be used on a 4G network in other countries. But an earlier report suggested it would only be available in very limited numbers, so it's probably smart to look at this as a very early prototype and assume you'll be buying version two, three or four as a mainstream device.

In any case, we’d expect to hear plenty more about Huawei’s folding phone in the next few months. For now, the only thing we can be sure of is that it will be very expensive.

• Samsung has already shown off its folding phone

Via PhoneArena