In a market where new smartphones are getting ever more expensive while innovation cycles grow smaller, Huawei is now pulling a different lever in China: price. On January 22, the company is rolling out a campaign for its compact foldable, the Huawei Pocket 2, effectively giving the device a second life — in some cases at roughly half of its original launch price. The move follows a similar strategy used for the Mate X5 and underlines how aggressively Huawei is trying to push returned devices and inventory back into the market.
In Huawei’s official refurbished store, the Pocket 2 is now listed in two versions:
- 12GB + 256GB for 3,599 yuan
- 12GB + 512GB for 3,899 yuan
For comparison, the original launch prices were 7,499 yuan and 7,999 yuan respectively. That means the devices are now selling at around 50% of their original price — a level at which foldable phones have rarely been available so far.
Same hardware, much lower price
Nothing changes about the device itself. The Huawei Pocket 2 keeps its dual-display design, with a 6.9-inch inner screen and a 1.15-inch outer screen. The inner panel has a resolution of 2690 × 1136 pixels, supports LTPO with 120Hz, 1440Hz PWM dimming, and reaches a pixel density of 420 PPI. The round outer display runs at 340 × 340 pixels with 60Hz and is operated via swipe gestures.
The camera setup also remains unchanged, with a quad-camera system:
- 50MP main camera
- 12MP ultra-wide
- 8MP telephoto
- 2MP ultra-spectral camera
The system covers a full focal range, supports 3x optical zoom, 2.5cm macro photography, and even UV detection. Power comes from the Kirin 9000S, while the battery is rated at 4,520mAh and supports 66W wired and 40W wireless charging.
Huawei says that most of its official refurbished devices are 7-day returns — phones that were sent back shortly after purchase. These are inspected, repackaged and resold, and are usually very close to new condition, often only having been unboxed.
Alongside the refurbished campaign, prices for the new “Pocket 2 Youxiang” models are also dropping sharply. This version differs only in the processor from the regular Pocket 2, while the rest of the hardware remains the same:
- 12GB + 512GB Youxiang version: now 3,798 yuan instead of 5,999 yuan — a cut of 2,200 yuan at third-party retailers
- 12GB + 256GB Youxiang version: now 3,399 yuan instead of 5,499 yuan — a cut of 2,100 yuan
As a result, both the Pocket 2 and Pocket 2 Youxiang have now clearly fallen into the 3,000-yuan price range — a segment where foldable phones have so far struggled to compete.
This aggressive pricing strategy did not come out of nowhere. Earlier, Huawei had already offered the Mate X5 as an official refurbished device at around half of its original price — a trial run that appears to have worked.
Between enthusiasm and skepticism
User reactions, however, are mixed. One owner says he uses the Pocket 2 daily and is impressed by the charging speed, reporting that it can go from 2% to 90% in about 30 minutes. At the same time, he criticizes the fragility of the foldable display: after a charger accidentally hit the screen, a bright spot appeared, though it was fixed thanks to screen insurance. His verdict: visually attractive, more suitable for female users, but weaker in performance than similarly priced slab phones — a “pretty but somewhat useless little device”.
Other users argue that even 50% off is still too expensive, suggesting a fair price would be 30–40% of the original or below 2,500 yuan. Others, meanwhile, welcome the move, saying the compact design, portability and sharp price drop finally make the device genuinely interesting.
In the end, Huawei’s move highlights a broader reality: the foldable phone market needs serious price movement to escape its niche. Whether the Pocket 2 can become a bestseller in the 3,000-yuan bracket remains to be seen — but Huawei has now made perhaps the clearest attempt yet to push foldables from luxury gadgets into the mass market.
