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SHENZHEN, China, Sept 20 Reuters Huawei and Apple39;s latest smartphones went on sale in China on Friday, with many fans of the Chinese company disappointed that its muchanticipated 2,800 model more than twice the price of the iPhone 16 Pro Max was not available for walkin customers.

At Huawei39;s flagship shop in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, some who described themselves as super fans were annoyed after being told only those whose preorders had been confirmed could buy the trifoldable Mate XT.

I39;ve been here since 10 p.m. last night because this trifolding phone is a first and I39;m excited to support our country, said a university student surnamed Ye.

But this is very disappointing. They should have made it clear we cant buy.

It was a similar story at the Huawei Wangfujing store in Beijing, where access to the muchhyped Mate XT which folds three ways like an accordion screen door was restricted to those whose preorders had been confirmed.

Reuters saw around 30 people queuing outside the Huawei store in Beijing and a similar number in Shenzhen. Around 100 were seen queuing outside one of Apple39;s main stores in Beijing.

Rui, who got to try the Mate XT in Shenzhen, said I wanted to see what the fuss is about, but it39;s a bit big, not very practical really….