The Tri Folding Phone Durability Test! - someone has to try...

The Huawei Mate XT Ultimate is probably the most futuristic Flagship on this planet right now, and probably the largest leap in smartphone evolution. Since LG had that crazy unit with the sideways flipping screen, may they rest in peace. This smartphone has two hinges and three screens.

Making it the world's first triple folding screen smartphone. When fully extended the smartphone is nearly the same size as an iPad. I mean, yeah, it does cost about $3,000, and for that price you could probably duct tape three iPhones together and get almost the same effect.

But there is a lot we can learn about this new form factor and with Huawei getting 65 million pre-orders I'm sure there are a lot of people with some very valid questions about the long-term durability of their future device. Which is why I'm here. Right off the bat we get the same warnings as all the other folding phones like the Galaxy fold and the Motorola Razor.

Things like don't remove the screen protector and don't press too hard on the screen or it might get damaged. Size-wise transforming from iPad status back into its phone form puts the Mate XT right about the same size as my Galaxy s24 Ultra in a case. Pretty mind-blowing to get so much screen real estate in such a small package.

The Mate XT can be a 6. 4 inch 8 inch or 10. 2 inch display on a moment's notice, and when either of the two wings get folded in very strong magnets hold everything into that closed position.

It's a bit discombobulating at first knowing which flat folds where and I'm a tad nervous that it might break on accident before I can break it on purpose. I also have an extremely bad feeling about the soft folding screen being permanently exposed on the outside. And, more importantly, that same soft screen wrapping around the exterior edge of the main bend.

It's very much unprotected all of the time. The exposed radius receiving even a small impact from a drop or brush with metal keys that are in the same pocket would probably destroy the entire phone, and I'm not sure it can handle the same abuse that our regular brick style smartphone encounters on the daily. But as you know we will find out for sure what its limits are here in a few minutes with a few of my specialized tools.

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Now when we get a screen that can flex, plastic is what we expect. The only way to verify though is with the Mohs scale of hardness. Using the level two Mohs pick, which is also made from plastic, we start seeing some indentions and deformations at a level two with deeper grooves at a level three.

The entire screen of the Mate XT Ultimate both inner and outer is fingernail scratchable levels of plastic. Which of course is not a deal breaker. Just good information to have.

Plastic is not necessarily a bad thing, but just like you wouldn't hang drywall wearing a Rolex or take a Lambo off-roading. Actually that does sound kind of fun, but all I'm saying is as a daily driver the Mate XT requires clean pockets and a bit of extra attention. The inner 8 megapixel selfie camera.

Which I won't touch with my Razor is covered with that same soft plastic. With the screen turned off the scratch marks from my fingernails and plastic tools appear even more visually apparent. I don't want the soft screen to distract from what a phenomenal technological achievement this phone has accomplished, cuz for reference, if you remember Apple also made their thinnest product ever this year with the iPad Pro at 5.

1 mm thick. This Mate XT Ultimate clocks in at four. It's quite mind blowing to hold.

The frame appears to be made from aluminum including the hinge nibblets. The Mate XT does have stereo loudspeakers. The right side of the phone has the metal volume rocker as well as a side mounted fingerprint scanner inside that power button.

The three sides of the bottom contain another loudspeaker a 66 Watt USBC Port that's capable of 5 watt reverse wire charging and a few microphones. We do have a SIM card tray. Which does have a gray rubber ring around the opening, but no official IP or dust resistant rating.

It's wild to see however that the thickness of the physical USB cable that I'm plugging into the phone is actually thicker than the phone itself. It's like technology out of a science fiction movie. Also there are rumors of a global launch for this Mate XT Ultimate in 2025.

Assuming of course that we're all still here. Making our way over to the back the only part of this phone that's thick is the camera bump. We have a 12 megapixel Ultra wide camera in the top left corner.

The main 50 megapixel variable aperture lens is on the bottom, and the 12 megapixel 5 times telephoto is in the upper right with the laser autofocus below that. All all of which are sitting inside the star diamond designed Damascus steel looking camera bump. The red leather, which I'm not sure if it's real or not, definitely has a nice textured feel and the inlaid Huawei branding and ultimate design script won't be falling out or coming out on its own.

There's a 50 watt wireless charging pad underneath this panel. Which we might be lucky enough to see here in a second. The center panel is blank, and the far panel has a designed and crafted by Huawei token embedded into the leather.

The token is made from metal. The internally folding hinge similar to the spine on Samsung's folding phone is made from metal. While the externally folding hinge has the soft screen on the spine.

Which means I'm not going to scratch it just yet. The Damascus looking steel ring around the camera units however, is made from metal. The fully unfolded Mate XT Ultimate has a 3K resolution 90 HZ LTPO OLED with 1 billion colors.

The blue J in the background looks kind of like that Twitter bird before it was murdered. Under flame the screen last for about 10 seconds before discoloring and the surface layer literally melting. Huawei has promised that the top layer of the external screen is eligible for free replacements, but the screen itself like the pixel part of it if damaged outside of warranty would cost about $1,100 to fix.

Which is surprisingly less than I thought it would be. Now remember I do not delight in the destruction or decimation of devices. I'm just here to eloquently educate on the endurance of electronics.

Where normally if a regular smartphone got accidentally covered in sand it wouldn't be the end of the world there might be some micro scratches or abrasions on the glass from the quartz or other hard minerals in the aggregate, but it would ultimately be fine. On a folding phone though especially one as premium and finely tuned as this one sand is a death sentence. Not from the folding screen itself, now surprisingly that's still alive and holding its own, but the hinges of the XT Ultimate immediately fill up with dirt and become unusable.

It's a incredibly painful sound. I've been doing this dirt test on folding phones for about 5 years now and this is the worst grinding we've ever encountered. The hinge is so full even after just a few pinches of sand that it won't close anymore this $3,000 triple folding smartphone is decidedly decimated by a dash of dirt.

Going back to the exposed outer radius of the soft folding screen. Huawei knows that is a weak point on the device. Which is why they've included a protective back panel case that flips up to protect the exposed edge.

Definitely nice! Protection is always a good thing. I am still curious though what would happen if that bit of exposed screen did get impacted during a drop or get squeezed up against something in your pocket.

Using a tiny pebble to press up against the screen nothing happens. I am using quite a bit of force here, but this rock is small and the phone is still unscathed and fully operational. Besides some some cosmetic impressions in the plastic.

However using my recently discounted to 999 Jerry rig knife. I can tap the handle against the exposed bend, and on the third strike, with less force than it would have received during a drop, the inner pixels fracture and start bleeding Black Ink. In a Venom like symbiote the ink permanently blemishes the 3K resolution screen.

Killing the pixels underneath. It is absolutely imperative that the Mate XT Ultimate not only stay away from dust, but also never receive an impact on the front unprotected flat display. The Mate XT Ultimate is a marvelous testament to modern engineering and an excellent showpiece.

But it's definitely not ready for the harsh environments of everyday living. One thing that wasn't immediately intuitive is knowing which side folds which direction. Especially since the phone works in any orientation.

However it appears as if Huawei has thought of this as well and has introduced sensors inside the phone to vibrate and notify you if you're bending in the wrong direction. This is is the first smartphone to ever beg for its life during the bend test. Which almost makes me want to give it a chance.

The Mate XT Ultimate can indeed be catastrophically bent in the wrong direction. Again, worth repeating, that a device built for upscale eloquence should be treated delicately. With the device dead it would be doing a disservice if we didn't disassemble the different divides.

The rear panel can pretty much be pulled away without heat. Exposing a battery in each of the individual sections. The main camera unit segment doesn't come away quite as easily, but it will.

The two batteries we have exposed so far are the same size, 1,930 Milliamp hours. With a bit more persuasion from my Jerry rig knife the rear panel and Damascuc steel camera lens housing does come away from the body. Revealing the absolutely beautiful internals of the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate.

Dual folds triple batteries, and if you look closely you can see the variable aperture camera open for one last time. The design is exquisitely complex.