Welcome to a new era of gadget wars – introducing the Huawei Mate X, the Chinese tech giant’s folding smartphone to rival Samsung’s newly released Galaxy Fold.
Huawei’s new super-charged smartphone will feature an 8′ fold-out screen, which is complemented by a 6.6′ display when the phone is closed. This makes the company’s new offering larger than the iPhone XS Max and even bigger than its main competitor, the Galaxy Fold. Furthermore, the Mate X is super slim, measuring less than half an inch when shut.
The folding mechanism works with a solid strip on the edge of the device that sits flush with the rear screen when opened out. This feature also acts as a handle and a container for a quadruple Leica camera system. On top of all this tech, you also get a fingerprint sensor, 8GB of RAM, a massive 512GB of storage, and the newest version of Huawei’s SuperCharge technology that allows the battery to go from zero to 85% in just 30 minutes.
To add to the hype, Huawei has also claimed that the Mate X will be the “world’s fastest foldable 5G smartphone”. Considering the company’s position as one of the key innovators in 5G network architecture, it’s very possible that this bold claim is true. However, for all these features, this state-of-the-art cellphone will set you back a cool $2,600 – which is three times as much as the top-end smartphones currently on the market.
Aside from some controversy around the price tag, Huawei’s design has got some criticism from experts. Unlike the Galaxy Fold, the Mate X’s screen folds backward, as opposed to inward like a book. This can expose the folding screen exposed to scratches, marks, and cracking. Furthermore, Ian Fogg, vice president of analysis for network analysts OpenSignal, said the Mate X’s foldable design was certainly striking but warned that “a foldable design places new tough demands on all aspects of the hardware, not just the display – it still has to deliver a great network experience, battery life etc.
Huawei has said that the Mate X will be available to buy later in the year, coinciding with the launch of new super-fast 5G networks. However, more manufacturers are expected to wade into the folding phone battle, with rival Chinese firm Xiaomi expected to unveil their folding-screen phone this year.
Huawei is the world’s second largest smartphone producer, manufacturing more phones by volume than its major competitor, Apple. However, the world’s largest manufacturer is still Samsung, which sold 70.4 million smartphones in 2018 alone.
