Huawei is reportedly planning a budget-friendly wide-screen phone after the Pura X View sold a reported 180,000 units on its first day. If the wide slab becomes a real category instead of a one-off experiment, the next battle will be fought on price.
PetaTech24 Technology Desk | October 16, 2026
Huawei’s Pura X View was a strange bet: a phone shaped like a wide foldable with the hinge removed. It worked. The 6.39-inch wide-screen slab reportedly sold 180,000 units on its first day in China, about 6% of what Huawei’s two wide foldables managed across their entire lifetimes combined.
Now the company is reportedly planning a cheaper follow-up that brings the wide-screen format down to mid-range money. The details are thin, which is normal for a plan rather than a product, but the logic is easy to read. The expensive version proved the demand. The affordable version would chase the volume.
It would not enter an empty field either. Coolpad already has a CNY 999 (about $150) wide-screen phone on sale in China, and Oppo and Honor are rumored to be working on their own wide slabs. The wide phone went from curiosity to category in about a month.
At a Glance
- Huawei is reportedly planning a budget-friendly wide-screen phone, following the Pura X View’s strong debut in China.
- The Pura X View, a 6.39-inch 16:9.5 wide slab without a folding hinge, reportedly sold 180,000 units on its first day.
- It starts at CNY 5,999 (about $893), with a 200MP camera, Kirin 9030S chip and 7,000mAh silicon-anode battery.
- Coolpad already sells a CNY 999 (about $150) wide-screen phone in China, proving the format works at budget prices.
- Oppo and Honor are rumored to be developing their own wide-screen slab phones, though neither has confirmed anything.
Why This Matters
The wide phone started as an accident. Some owners of Huawei’s Pura X foldable reportedly used it without ever unfolding it, and accessory makers even sold cases that physically stop it from folding. People were paying for the fold and using the shape. Huawei read the signal, removed the hinge, and the Pura X View was the result.
A budget version matters because it would test whether the wide slab is a real category or a flagship novelty. At $893, the Pura X View is a premium purchase. At mid-range money, with Huawei’s Nova series starting around CNY 2,699 (about $380), the format could reach the buyers who actually drive volume in China and emerging markets.
The competitive clock is already ticking. Coolpad’s $150 wide phone is on sale now, and Oppo and Honor are reportedly circling. If Huawei wants to own the category it created, a cheaper model is the obvious next move.
The Pura X View Effect
The numbers explain the urgency. Huawei’s two wide foldables, the Pura X and Pura X Max, shipped about 2.9 million units combined over their lifetimes, according to Memeburn. The Pura X View reportedly did 180,000 units on day one and around 282,000 activations in its first five days. Roughly 6% of the foldables’ lifetime total, in a single day, at a lower price, with no hinge to manufacture or repair.
The hardware itself is a careful package: a 6.39-inch OLED at 2232 x 1320 with a 16:9.5 aspect ratio, 1.05mm bezels on all four sides, a 200MP RYYB main camera with a 50MP periscope, and a 7,000mAh silicon-anode battery in a 6.68mm body. That combination, at CNY 5,999, undercuts Huawei’s own Pura X foldable by about $225 and Apple’s $1,999 iPhone Duo by more than half.
Reviewers and early buyers keep pointing at the same thing: the shape matches the content. Vertical videos fill the screen instead of getting boxed in, and 16:9 video plays nearly edge to edge with no thick black bars. It is a small ergonomic argument that turns out to matter a lot in daily use.
What a Budget Version Could Look Like
No specifications have leaked for the budget model, so anything specific would be invention. But Huawei’s own lineup shows the template. The Nova 15 starts at CNY 2,699 in China, and the Nova 16 SE pairs a 50MP main camera with a 6.84-inch 120Hz display. A wide-screen Nova, or a stripped-down Pura X View with a mid-range Kirin chip, an LCD or lower-tier OLED panel and a simpler camera system, is the shape this rumor would take if it materializes.
The trade-offs write themselves. Coolpad’s $150 wide phone shows what happens at the floor: a 720p LCD, a 2022-era Helio G99 chip and undisclosed cameras. Huawei would presumably land well above that, keeping the wide aspect ratio and the big battery as the selling points while cutting the 200MP camera and the flagship silicon. The screen shape is the product. Everything else is negotiable.
Timing is the other open question. Reports point to a possible debut by the end of 2026 or in early 2027, which would put it in the same window as the rumored affordable Pura 90 Plus and the Nova 17 series. Huawei likes to stack launches in that window, and a budget wide phone would give the lineup a clear story: the wide screen for everyone.
Confirmed vs Reported vs Unknown
Confirmed: the Pura X View exists and is on sale in China since September 2026, with a 6.39-inch 16:9.5 OLED, Kirin 9030S, 200MP camera and 7,000mAh battery at CNY 5,999. Coolpad’s CNY 999 wide phone is on sale in China. Oppo and Honor have announced nothing.
Reported: the 180,000 first-day sales figure and the 282,000 five-day activations come from secondary reporting, not from Huawei itself, so treat them as directional rather than official. The budget Huawei wide phone is a reported plan, not an announced product. The affordable Pura 90 Plus details come from a single Weibo leaker.
Unknown: the budget phone’s name, specifications, price and launch date. Whether Oppo and Honor actually ship their rumored wide phones. Whether the wide slab stays a China-first curiosity or goes global, since Huawei has not announced international availability for the Pura X View either.
FAQ
Is Huawei really making a budget wide-screen phone?
That is the report, not an announcement. Huawei is said to be planning a cheaper wide-screen model, but the company has confirmed nothing, and no specifications have leaked. Treat it as a plan until hardware appears.
How much does the Pura X View cost?
CNY 5,999 (about $893) for 12GB RAM and 256GB storage in China, rising to CNY 8,499 (about $1,266) for 1TB. Huawei has not announced pricing for Europe or any market outside China.
What is the cheapest wide-screen phone available now?
Coolpad’s wide-screen phone at CNY 999 (about $150), on sale in China. It makes real compromises, a 720p LCD and a 2022-era Helio G99 chip, but it proves the format can be built cheaply.
Are Oppo and Honor making wide-screen phones?
Both are rumored to be working on wide slab phones after the Pura X View’s debut, according to Gizmochina. Neither company has confirmed a device, specifications or a launch date, so these plans could still change.
Will the wide-screen phone come to Europe or the US?
Unknown. The Pura X View is currently China-only with no announced international launch, and Huawei’s recent phones have had limited availability outside China. A budget model would most likely debut in China first as well.
Bottom Line
Huawei stumbled onto something with the wide slab: a shape people wanted enough to buy 180,000 of on day one, hinge or no hinge. A budget version is the logical next step, and the rumor mill says it is coming.
But a plan is not a product. Until Huawei announces a name, a price and a date, the budget wide phone lives in the same category as the Oppo and Honor rumors: plausible, interesting and unconfirmed.
What is confirmed is the trend. The wide phone went from one company’s experiment to a four-brand race in about a month. Whatever Huawei’s cheaper model costs, it will not be entering a quiet market.
Sources / Attribution
- Huawei Central, Huawei now plans a budget-friendly wide-screen phone, October 2026.
- Memeburn, Wide-Screen Phone 2026: Oppo, Honor Chase Huawei’s 180K Hit, October 2026.
- Gizmochina, Oppo and Honor to lead wide-screen candybar push after Huawei Pura X View, October 8, 2026.
- Gizmochina, Huawei Pura X View launches as the world’s first wide-screen phone with a 7,000mAh battery, September 2026.
- Huawei Central, Affordable Huawei Pura 90 launch timeline leaked again, October 2026.
- Huawei Central, Huawei sold more than 20 million foldable smartphones yet, October 2026.
- Cashify, Huawei Nova 15 Launched: Flagship-Level Cameras And 120Hz OLED At Mid Range, 2026.
