The battle for the thinnest mobile phone on the market Things have suddenly heated up. What recently seemed like a race focused on Apple and Samsung, with their iPhone Air and Galaxy Edge putting phones on a diet by sacrificing battery life, now has a new player ready to break the rules: Huawei and its ultra-thin models. And it's doing so with a very aggressive approach, both in design and battery capacity, price, and ecosystem.
Far from simply releasing another, slightly thinner "black rectangle," Huawei is making moves on several fronts at once: ultra-thin mobile phones with giant batteriesTri-fold foldable phones, transparent hardware projects, software-based artificial intelligence solutions, and an increasingly significant presence in critical infrastructure. All this amidst geopolitical tensions, technological vetoes, and a mobile industry that many considered to have reached its innovation limits.
Huawei enters the ultra-thin war with the Mate 70 Air
In the world of smartphones, the surnames "Air" or "Edge" usually mean one thing: extreme thinness design In exchange for cutting corners somewhere, almost always on the battery. We've seen this with Apple's iPhone Air or with devices like Samsung's Galaxy S25 Edge, which boast an almost paper-thin profile, but force you to be constantly tethered to the charger if you push your daily usage even slightly.
Huawei, however, seems determined to break this unwritten pact to which the sector had resigned itself. The next Huawei Mate 70 Air This is shaping up to be the Chinese brand's direct attack on the "ultra-thin" segment, but with a key twist: maintaining a very thin structure without sacrificing battery life. Furthermore, this move comes just as the company has regained significant strength in its domestic market, once again competing head-to-head with Apple in the Chinese high-end segment.
According to leaks amplified by international specialized media, the Mate 70 Air will feature an aluminum and glass chassis with a thickness of around 6 – 6,6 millimeters...entering the league of the world's thinnest smartphones. Interestingly, the circulating images clearly maintain the visual DNA of the Mate family, including the classic circular camera module on the back, demonstrating a attention to design that goes beyond simply slimming down.
A 6.500 mAh battery in an ultra-thin body: a real game-changer.
The big headline about the Mate 70 Air isn't just its thickness, but the figure that's generating the most buzz: a 6.500 mAh batteryIn such a thin phone, that sounds almost like science fiction when compared to the direct competition. The iPhone Air has a battery around 3.149 mAh, while the Galaxy S25 Edge goes up to about 3.900 mAh, figures that clearly fall short of Huawei's offering.
If this capability is confirmed, we would be facing the largest battery ever seen in a Huawei mobile phoneAnd it's a model that boasts being the thinnest Mate ever. The idea is clear: to demonstrate that you can have a light and stylish phone without making battery life a daily struggle. After years in which "ultra-thin" meant significant compromises, the company wants to use this launch to showcase just how far new battery technologies have come.
The trick isn't just a matter of mechanical engineering and stacking components better. The equation also involves... silicon-carbon batteriesThis type of cell, which we've already begun to see in other Chinese manufacturers, allows for increased capacity without significantly increasing the physical size of the battery pack. Brands like Realme have boasted of reaching 15.000 mAh in experiments with this technology, and Honor has achieved around 8.000 mAh, although questions remain about its long-term durability.
Huawei doesn't go to those extremes in the lab, but the 6.500 mAh They fit perfectly into what one would expect from a conservative yet highly advanced implementation. The Mate 70 Air relies on this technology to square the circle: a body around 6 mm thick, a battery far exceeding what we usually see in slim phones, and the message that China is already applying the solution to the perennial battery life problem in ultra-thin devices to real products.
Design, cameras and chassis: the Mate 70 Air is not just about thickness
Reducing the thickness of a smartphone to around 6 millimeters without it becoming a mere prototype with compromises everywhere is a feat of pure and simple engineeringIn the case of the Mate 70 Air, the first details point to a device that not only focuses on the visual impact of its impressive size, but also aims to be usable daily without a feeling of permanent fragility.
The chassis combines aluminum and glassThese two materials are very common in high-end devices, but here they're pushed to their limits to gain rigidity without increasing thickness. The leaked images show a very sleek device that retains the large circular camera module on the back, an iconic feature of the Mate series, making it instantly recognizable.
In terms of photography, Huawei doesn't seem willing to lower the bar. Everything indicates that the Mate 70 Air will feature a triple-camera system with a 50 megapixel main sensor (possibly a 1/1,3” sensor), accompanied by a 13-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens and an 8-megapixel periscope telephoto lens. In other words: it aims to be slim, but without sacrificing the kind of camera setup expected from a high-end model from the brand.
The focus on photography makes perfect sense when we look at Huawei's recent strategy. Devices like the Pura 80 Ultra They've propelled the company back to the top of the mobile camera rankings with innovative solutions like switchable dual telephoto lenses and highly advanced image stabilization and processing systems. With the Mate 70 Air, the idea seems clear: even though it's their "slim" phone, they don't want it to be a watered-down version in terms of cameras.
Another relevant detail is the origin of the image sensors. Huawei has been strengthening its collaboration with Chinese manufacturers such as SmartSensShanghai-based, the company specializes in CMOS sensors and has over 350 clients and some 420 patents (190 of which are its own inventions). This type of partnership fits with the company's overall strategy of relying on an increasingly domestic supply chain to circumvent Western vetoes and limitations.
Kirin Heart and HarmonyOS: a commitment to its own ecosystem
Since the US ban, Huawei has been forced to rebuild its technology platform practically from scratch. The Mate 70 Air is another chapter in this process. Instead of using Qualcomm or MediaTek chips, the device will opt for a Kirin 5G SoC designed in-house, continuing the line established by the standard Mate 70.
Leaks point to two internal variants. The model with 12 GB of RAM It would feature a Kirin 9020B chip, a version with slightly reduced clock speeds; while the configuration with 16 GB of RAM would rely on the Kirin 9020A, a processor already familiar within the Mate 70 family. This differentiation allows Huawei to play with power consumption, temperatures and costs while maintaining high performance across the entire catalog.
Beyond the hardware, the great glue of this generation is HarmonyOSHuawei's own operating system, Mate, is the one Huawei has been using for years to try to become independent of Android and Google services. Each new Mate device is an opportunity to solidify this platform, testing new integrations with the brand's cloud, proprietary services, and compatibility with its ecosystem of devices (watches, tablets, laptops, connected cars, etc.).
Projects like Harmony OS NEXT They're aiming even higher, trying to create an environment where applications can move more easily between devices and where users don't depend on any Western player for their basic services. It's a direct response to a context in which technological resilience has become a matter of survival for Huawei.
Price and positioning: competing with the iPhone Air without targeting the same audience.
In market terms, the Mate 70 Air is positioned as direct competitor to the iPhone Air within China, but it does so with a slightly different approach. The device measures approximately 6,6 mm thick and is sold for around 4.199 yuan, which is about $590, significantly less than the $999 price tag of Apple's ultra-thin model.
In other words, Huawei isn't necessarily trying to dethrone the iPhone Air in the top price segment, but rather to seduce a user very sensitive to design It's for those who want a stylish phone but also consider the performance-to-price ratio. This combination of slimness, a 6.500 mAh battery, a large screen (around 7 inches), stereo speakers, and HarmonyOS makes it a very interesting alternative within the affordable high-end market in China.
Furthermore, the terminal can now Reserve at the Huawei online store In its home country, deliveries are slated for mid-November, indicating that this isn't a futuristic prototype, but rather a product designed for high-volume production. Meanwhile, other Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi are pursuing similar strategies, renaming their flagship lines (the Xiaomi 17 and 17 Pro series, for example) and adjusting prices to compete with Apple, all with the same goal: to challenge the prestige of the premium segment without resorting to exorbitant prices.
Huawei's AI revolution: more performance without more hardware
Alongside its offensive in mobile devices, Huawei is making moves in another crucial field: artificial intelligence infrastructureThe novelty here is not a new physical chip, but a software solution that, according to Asian sources such as the South China Morning Post, could improve the efficiency of existing GPUs and NPUs by up to 70%.
The idea is simple to explain, although complex to execute: instead of competing to see who launches the most powerful GPU or the smallest manufacturing node, Huawei would be working on a AI resource orchestrator capable of much more efficiently utilizing processing clusters. Today, many AI infrastructures barely manage to use between 30 and 40% of the GPU's real potential; the goal of this solution would be to raise that utilization rate to close to 70%.
This approach, reminiscent of what the Israeli company Run:ai (acquired by Nvidia for around $700 million) did, would allow manage all resources in a unified wayincluding GPUs from third-party manufacturers. In one fell swoop, direct dependence on Nvidia is reduced, and the door is opened to hybrid data centers that combine Huawei's local hardware (such as its Ascend chips) with other processors.
For a company barred from accessing much of the highest-end Western hardware, this type of software is almost a strategic issue. Ren Zhengfei, Huawei's founder, has reiterated his confidence in the talent of his development teams to offset hardware disadvantages with innovation in algorithms and cluster architectureAnd the budget supports it: in 2024 alone, the company's R&D investment was around $25.000 billion.
All of this comes alongside other innovations: advancements in ultra-large-scale computing systems, new next-generation SSDs, improvements to HarmonyOS, optical interconnects, assisted and autonomous driving solutions, and new technologies for foldable phones and photography. In other words, Huawei doesn't just want to make thin phones: it wants to be an essential player in the AI and advanced computing ecosystem, without relying on American hardware.
Foldable and triple-fold: the Mate XTs and the bet on giant screens
While the market is eyeing Samsung's foldable future (the rumored TriFold or G Fold), Huawei has already launched its first world trade triple foldThe Mate XT Ultimate Design. Now, the company is preparing for its successor, the Mate XTs, which could arrive with a much more affordable price than the original.
The Mate XT Ultimate Design was released internationally with a price tag of around €3.500, making it practically a collector's item. Rumors about the Mate XTs They're talking about a price of around 15.000 yuan, about €1.800 at the direct exchange rate. It's true that if it were to launch in international markets, taxes and profit margins would have to be factored in, but it would still be considerably cheaper than its predecessor.
With a screen unfolded of around 10,2 inchesThis type of device operates in a space very close to that of tablets, but retains the ability to fold into a relatively manageable smartphone format. To put this in context, many current book-style foldable phones are limited to 8 inches and cost similarly or even more, such as the Galaxy Z Fold 7 or the Pixel 10 Pro Fold.
However, these more "reasonable" prices would mainly apply to the Chinese market. A European or Latin American buyer who decided to import it would have to assume shipping costs, lack of native Google services And a series of limitations stemming from the bans Huawei faces. Furthermore, the brand lacks access to some of the highest-end chips, such as the Snapdragon 8 Elite, so we can't expect it to compete head-to-head with the best models from Samsung, Oppo, or Motorola in terms of raw performance.
In return, it offers something extremely unique: an extra fold This allows for a massive screen diagonal and a unique form factor. For many users, the ability to carry a device in their pocket that unfolds to over 10 inches more than compensates for any sacrifices in features or maximum power. However, little is yet known about the specific differences between the Mate XTs and the Mate XT Ultimate Design beyond expected improvements in camera, chipset, and overall design.
The rebirth of mobile innovation: batteries, cameras and new formats
For years, a feeling of technological boredom It had become the norm in the smartphone industry: more megapixels, a smaller processor by a nanometer, a few grams less weight… but without any truly exciting changes. Many users stuck with phones that were four or five years old because they saw no compelling reason to upgrade.
By 2025, that perception has begun to change. Terminals like the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra They have brought back the feeling of being in the presence of something different. One of the most striking elements is its switchable dual telephoto lens: a system made up of two lenses (3,7x and 9,4x) on a 1/1,28″ sensor that uses a symmetrical mechanism to block light and offer smooth transitions between different focal lengths, maintaining very high quality even at long distances.
Not everyone might use such a specific TV to its full potential on a daily basis, but the key is that, once again, Huawei has dared to to deviate from the traditional script and to offer something that no one else does. Something similar is happening with the photography kits that are becoming increasingly popular in the premium range of other manufacturers, such as the Vivo X300 Pro or Oppo Find X9 Pro bundles, which include accessories that screw onto the cameras to increase the optical zoom. Mobile photography is becoming a field where experimentation and external accessories are once again taking center stage.
In audio, some manufacturers are also starting to take risks, incorporating speakers signed by specialized brands in unusual places, such as the camera module, with surprisingly good results. They are even exploring secondary screens integrated into that same rear area, as in the case of the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max, which has a small panel in the camera module to display notifications, preview selfies, or run mini-apps.
Thickness, meanwhile, has become almost an obsession this year. We've even seen phones that are... 5,6 mmThis technical milestone, however, comes at the cost of battery life and, often, a comfortable grip. For many users, such a thin phone creates a strange feeling of fragility. Even so, phones like the iPhone Air have been a breath of fresh air in terms of design, demonstrating that there's still room to surprise us with the device's form alone.
In foldable phones, the qualitative leap has been noticeable in models like the Honor Magic V5, a device that, when closed, It looks like a normal mobile phone.With a much more reasonable width and thickness than the first attempts from years ago, and when unfolded, it significantly reduces the typical central crease that was so bothersome in previous generations. This, combined with batteries that are now becoming standardized at 6.000 mAh thanks again to silicon-carbon, has transformed what were once expensive rarities into increasingly mature devices.
In that more lively context, Huawei plays a starring roleIt pushes from above with experiments like the triple fold and from below with ultra-thin devices with giant batteries, while the rest of the industry catches that need to offer more than just an incremental specification sheet.
Project Mirror: towards a mobile phone with a transparent body and integrated augmented reality
If the Mate 70 Air represents the brand's immediate present, projects like Project Mirror They show where Huawei wants to go in the coming years. According to early leaks, it would be a device with a completely transparent body, designed to lead what could be the next mobile hardware revolution.
The concept is based on a monolithic block of multilayer glassIn this design, the phone's main body would be visually transparent, while critical components like the battery and processor would be relocated to an ultra-thin side edge. This way, when looking through the device, we would see the real world without obstruction, with the phone acting as a kind of smart glass.
The biggest challenge with a transparent screen is ensuring the content is clearly visible when needed. To address this, Huawei is reportedly developing a technology that combines OLED panels with electrochromic materialThis would allow the terminal to change state: going from totally translucent to an opaque and matte mode with a simple electrical impulse, thus offering a solid background on which to display multimedia content with good brightness and contrast when needed.
Project Mirror wouldn't remain merely an aesthetic curiosity. The goal would be for it to function as a augmented reality platform Powered by something called Harmony Intelligence Core, an AI system designed to overlay layers of digital information onto the real-world environment seen through the device. In other words, turning the phone into a spatial interface, somewhere between a smartphone and AR glasses, but without requiring the user to wear anything on their face.
Although it all sounds incredibly futuristic, sources indicate that this would be a product intended for mass productionNot just a trade show prototype. The first functional prototypes could arrive as early as 2026 if internal deadlines are met. With this move, Huawei aims not only to reclaim its reputation as a major global innovator, but also to begin phasing out the classic mobile phone format that we've been using for over a decade with virtually no significant changes.
Huawei, critical infrastructure, and the geopolitical battle for technology
Beyond mobile phones, Huawei has become a key player in technological infrastructure from many countries, and this has unleashed a political storm that goes far beyond the specifications. A recent example has been the uproar surrounding a €12,3 million contract awarded by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior to the company to supply OceanStor 6800 V5 storage servers for the SITEL system, the platform for the legal interception of communications.
It is worth noting that, in this case, we are talking about secure and auditable storageThis does not involve 5G antennas or externally accessible communications equipment. The contract was awarded through a public tender and with the endorsement of the National Cryptologic Center, which validated that the Huawei component was an isolated, certified piece with no external connection. In fact, the National Intelligence Center (CNI) itself no longer uses that technology.
Even so, the reaction from the United States was immediate: senior officials of the Intelligence committees Members of Congress and the Senate sent a letter to the US Director of National Intelligence urging a review of intelligence-sharing agreements with Spain. Media outlets such as Politico amplified the message, portraying the country as a potential "weak link" in the face of what they describe as the "Chinese threat."
What's shocking is the asymmetry of discourseWhile Washington is pressuring Europe with the threat of tariffs of 15 to 20% (and even 30%) on European products if they don't comply with its trade demands, it is simultaneously demanding unconditional loyalty on technology and security. All of this is happening in parallel with domestic decisions such as the controversial One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cuts incentives for renewable energy, raises electricity prices, and extends the lifespan of fossil fuel power plants, precisely when climate change demands the opposite.
In public health, the situation also does not help to reinforce the moral authority of the United States: with denialist figures in key positions, the Childhood vaccination rates have fallenCOVID reinforcement coverage has decreased, and outbreaks of diseases like measles have reached multi-decade highs. These facts are difficult to reconcile with the image of a responsible guardian of global security that it seeks to project.
Meanwhile, China is advancing at an impressive speed in clean energy and technology industryInstalling nearly one hundred solar panels per second and breaking records in wind power, to the point of reducing emissions from the electricity sector well below the targets set for 2030… years ahead of schedule. In this context, companies like Huawei lead in the number of patents in many of their fields and offer a price-performance ratio that is very attractive to emerging countries and, increasingly, also to EU members like Spain.
The underlying problem is not whether Huawei presents risks (like any major strategic technology provider), but the double yardstickThe Chinese company is demonized while the NSA's years-long mass spying on its own allies is ignored. Competitive solutions like Huawei's are demanded to be abandoned, but equally questionable practices are tolerated when they come from American companies. Ultimately, what many analysts point out is that confusing loyalty with subservience is a dangerous geopolitical mistake.
Among ultra-thin phones with enormous batteries, tri-fold foldable devices, transparent hardware projects, AI solutions that squeeze every last drop out of GPUs without any additional chips, and infrastructure contracts that shake up diplomacy, Huawei has positioned itself at the epicenter of the new technological era.
Their movements shake up both the consumer market and geopolitics, forcing industry to innovate again and governments to rethink what security, dependence and competition really mean in a world where the thinness of a phone can weigh as much as an international policy decision. Share this information so other users can learn about Huawei's new ultra-thin models.
