The Shenzhen-based firm stole the spotlight as it began pre-orders for its Mate XT midday on Saturday, two days ahead of Apple's planned iPhone 16 launch early morning Tuesday Beijing time, CNBC reported.

It seems Huawei is on track to become the world's best smartphone as it made a comeback as it launched popular models like the Mate 60 Pro and Mate X5.

Last month, Huawei emerged financially victorious, reporting double-digit jumps in both revenue and profit, despite US sanctions.

Huawei consumer business chairman Richard Yu said at the livestreamed launch event that the company spent five years developing the product, leading to what he calls "breakthroughs" in screen and hinge technology.

As reported by CNN, he was quoted, claiming that the “Huawei Mate XT is the world’s first triple-fold smartphone, and the largest and thinnest foldable handset globally."

“We are the first in the world to achieve outward folding (in smartphones) and the first to create an inward-folding phone with no gaps.”

The phone has three panels that can be folded up to three times. It sports a 10.2-inch screen available in red and black.

Huawei claimed the Mate XT smartphone has currently more than 3.7 million pre-orders since becoming available online Saturday.

The base model sells for US$2,800.

Canalys research manager Amber Liu told CNN that Huawei's recovery "directly challenges" Apple's performance in China, its second largest market, which accounts for 20% of its global shipments.

She noted that Chinese smartphone makers climbed the top five spots domestically on a quarterly basis for the first time ever, pushing Apple to sixth place.

The iPhone 16
Apple introduced the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16, built for Apple Intelligence, a personal intelligence system that "understands personal context to deliver intelligence that is helpful and relevant while protecting user privacy."

Apple boasted the new lineup features camera control, which brings "brings new ways to capture memories, and will help users quickly access visual intelligence to learn about objects or places around them faster than ever before."

The Apple Intelligence harnesses Apple-built generative models to understand and create language.

Apple said the generative features will soon follow.

It is still unclear whether the Mate XT features AI.

GlobalData senior technology analyst Anisha Bhatia said that although Apple Intelligence has arrived, Google is "miles ahead when it comes to AI."

"The integration of this technology into Apple's ecosystem will occur in a phased manner over the next few years," Bhatia said. "Meanwhile, Google will race ahead taking its Gemini AI models to 200 million Android devices by the end of 2024."

“The upcoming iPhone cycle is crucial for Apple after multiple years of lackluster sales, especially in China, regulatory scrutiny, and a loss in market cap to Microsoft and Nvidia on the strength of their AI business. Apple will have to upsell its AI significantly," Bhatia added.