Huawei Mate X smartphone folds face out

Huawei has revealed its first smartphone to feature a foldable screen, less than a week after its rival Samsung did the same.

The rival handset-tablet hybrids have contrasting designs.

Huawei's Mate X places its fold-out screen on the outside of the device, so that it covers the front and rear of the phone when closed.

In both modes, the display is larger than Samsung's. Huawei's device is also flatter and thinner when shut.

However, unlike Samsung's Galaxy Fold it does not have a second display on its reverse side.

One analyst attending the launch event in Barcelona also remarked that a crease in the screen appeared to be visible.

The Chinese company allowed attendees at the event to get a close look at the handset following its unveiling. Its South Korean competitor has yet to let outsiders to do so with the Galaxy Fold.

"Security concerns about Huawei's 5G kit are a shadow hanging over the whole of this year's Mobile World Congress," commented the BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones.

"But the firm was determined in a confident, even arrogant press conference to convey that it's now the leading innovator in smartphones."