A person uses the Huawei Mate X, the first 5G foldable smartphone from Huawei, during the 17th China Digital Entertainment Expo, also known as ChinaJoy 2019, in Shanghai, in August, 2019. Photo: IC

A source close to the matter on Thursday denied that China's leading technology company Huawei will postpone sales of its Mate X, saying that the 5G foldable phone will hit the market on Friday as scheduled.

Huawei's official e-commerce platform vmall.com shows that the high-end series equipped with its self-developed Kirin 980 chips will start selling at 10 am Beijing time at the price of 16,999 yuan ($2,420) on Friday.

Reports of a postponement were carried by some Chinese technology media outlets on Thursday, but the source told the Global Times that the Mate X will start selling on Friday as planned.

The Mate X's major competitor, Samsung's foldable Galaxy Fold, which doesn't support 5G, launched in China on November 8 and quickly sold out, said media reports.

Huawei's market tactic is that because Samsung has launched its own model, Huawei must launch as scheduled too, James Yan, Beijing-based research director at Counterpoint, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The so-called issues mentioned in media reports may just be lines made by folding, which can be resolved, Yan added.

Huawei's Mate X series is expected to sell quickly, since the new device is expected to attract the attention of many high-income people, Xiang Ligang, a veteran industry analyst who follows Huawei closely, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The Mate X has a self-developed chip, and the support for 5G has higher capacity requirements, Xiang said, adding that Huawei won't start selling a device that can't meet its standards.

Product information on vmall.com shows that the new phone's working temperature ranges from 0-35 C, which means the device can't be used in many scenarios.

As cutting-edge devices, foldable smartphones still need time to improve, and both Huawei and Samsung need to continue efforts to improve their products, Xiang said.