Huawei sets up Apple showdown with event hours after new iPhone

Huawei Technologies Co. is preparing to launch new products at an event mere hours after Apple Inc.'s debut for the iPhone 16, setting the stage for the two tech giants' next clash.

Consumer group chief Richard Yu announced the Sept. 10 reveal on Weibo, teasing "an epoch-making product" that took five years of work and investment. Huawei plans to unveil the world's first commercial-ready smartphone that folds twice, according to a person familiar with its plans. The company is also preparing an Aito electric vehicle launch, though the final products to be released are subject to change, the person said, asking not to be named discussing private plans.

Archrival Apple is launching its new family of iPhone handsets and accessories on Sept. 9, making its pitch for why consumers should upgrade their devices. In China, Huawei pushed Apple out of the top five device makers in the June quarter, after reclaiming its share of the premium market with the Mate 60 series powered by a breakthrough chip. Scheduling an event so soon after the new iPhone's launch would suggest the company is ready to go head-to-head with Apple again.

Yu has been spotted with the new device in hand, dubbed a trifold. Its key advantage would be the ability to fit an even larger, tablet-like screen inside the dimensions of a regular smartphone. Huawei, alongside fellow Chinese device makers like Honor Device Co. and Xiaomi Corp., has developed some of the thinnest foldable phones to date and has been working on evolving the form factor further.