The Huawei Mate X is the first foldable cell phone of the company and has a screen that folds in its exterior, instead of the interior like the Samsung Galaxy Fold.
Juan Garzon / CNET
With a price of almost US $ 2,600 (2,299 euros) the Huawei Mate X is an expensive cell phone and, for the moment, the most expensive folding phone of one of the leading companies in the mobile industry even more expensive than the Samsung Galaxy Fold, which It is priced at US $ 1,980.
During the MWC 2019 I had the opportunity to try the Huawei Mate X and it helped me to understand its potential a little better. Also, during this fair I had the opportunity to be very close to the Galaxy Fold to learn more about the virtues of both cell phones.
It is clear that flexible technology is the next big bet of the mobile industry to innovate in the design of the devices, while the other big bet of innovation is 5G.
It is still not entirely clear how successful both will be or how long it may take to verify its benefits, but the Huawei Mate X is one of the few cell phones that offers that and, for the moment, the only one of the main cell phone manufacturers of the world. That said, it is clear how attractive this Huawei foldable phone is, amn the risks and the potential it has.
What worries me about the Huawei Mate X
- The point where the screen is folded, the panel and the plastic that protects it is not completely flat, but the folds are marked.
- Bent feels, no doubt, like a cell phone thicker than most current phones.
- It only allows to take selfies (coming on the screen) folded, so even video calls will have to be done like this (if you want to be seen) instead of with the entire 9-inch screen that will make the experience more immersive.
- Durability: Huawei told CNET in Spain that they are ensuring that the cell phone lasts at least three or four years doubling and unfolding, although the use will always vary between users and, without a doubt, this mechanism generates more risks for the integrity of the phone .
- The 6.38-inch screen is always divided by the aspect ratio, so not an entire app can enjoy that screen size.
- The large bezel that allows you to easily hold the cell phone safely also exposes the cameras to dirtier more easily.
Watch this:
Huawei Mate X vs. Galaxy Fold: What is better?
4:00
Its benefits
- You can have a bigger screen at any time
- It is a very exclusive and special cell phone and technology.
- It will have as good cameras as the Huawei P30, according to the company CNET in Spain.
- What I like most about Mate X is that despite the fold marked on the screen, the experience is not significantly affected.
His virtues before the Galaxy Fold
- In general, the device manages to be thinner
- In tablet mode it practically has no bezels
- Be compatible with 5G networks
- In smaller screen mode, the Mate X offers more screen
In what remains behind the Galaxy Fold
- Its rear looks a little cheaper
- You can only run, at the moment, two active apps at once (not three like the Galaxy Fold)
- It is more expensive
- It cannot be charged wirelessly, nor does it offer reversible charging
Design: Only a flexible screen that becomes three
The Huawei Mate X has the same philosophy of the Samsung Galaxy Fold to offer a cell phone that can be converted into a tablet.
However, unlike the Galaxy Fold that integrates two screens (a 7-inch interface and a 4.58-inch external), the Huawei Mate X integrates only an 8-inch screen, but it becomes three use screens depending on how you use it .
For example, when folded, the cell phone activates only a portion of the screen to allow the device to offer a 6.6-inch screen in (main) mode, while on the other side it offers a 6.38-inch screen.
This means that when folded, not the entire screen is active. According to my first experience with the device, the Mate X automatically adapts the screen when you fold it and unfold it, depending on how you use the device, but switching from one side to the other in cellular mode may require pressing a button or simply being recognized by the accelerometer (according to its point of gravity).
In tablet mode, the Huawei Mate X does not have any front camera, which allows the bezels to be smaller than what the Galaxy Fold has, but it also makes if you want to take a selfieand you want to see it necessary to fold the device. This means that the Huawei Mate X integrates all its cameras in that bezel in total, four cameras.
Watch this:
Huawei Mate X: Huawei's first folding phone …
1:54
The Huawei Mate X has only one large side bezel, which may be on the left or right side depending on how you use the device, but this will only be in mobile mode, because in tablet mode it is simply at the rear.
In a way, Mate X looks a lot like Royole Flexpai, but it certainly looks more refined and elegant.
Something that left me my first experience with the Huawei folding phone is that the back looks a little cheaper than what the Galaxy Fold offers the Samsung cell phone looks more premium.
However, similar to the Galaxy Fold, the Huawei Mate X integrates a fingerprint reader built into the power button.
The Huawei Mate X dobaldo works as a cell phone.
Juan Garzon / CNET
Like the Galaxy Fold, the Huawei Mate X has two batteries, which offer a capacity of 4,500mAh (together), which represents a little more than the 4,380mAh battery that the Galaxy Fold has.
Although we do not have many details of the Galaxy Fold, Huawei s revealed that the Mate X has been unfolded 5.4mm thick (at the thinnest point logically) and folded 11mm thick.
The Mate X wants to offer more than the Galaxy Fold
Apart from its general function and design, Huawei wants to apply for the Mate X as a more advanced cell phone than the Galaxy Fold, integrating 5G connectivity, the new generation of cellular networks that promises higher speeds and promises to open new doors to augmented reality experiences and ms.
This is good because it means that you can achieve higher speeds than most cell phones in the market, but this works as long as you have a network and signal to connect with this kind of technology.
Also, although there will be other 5G cell phones such as Galaxy S10 5G and the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G, Huawei says the Mate X achieves higher speeds than those devices thanks to the Kirin 980 processor and Balong 5000 modem.
According to the company, that modem achieves maximum speeds of 4.6Gbps, which will represent twice the maximum speed offered by the Snapdragon X50 modem that is integrated into the cell phone with the Snapdragon 855 processor, as the two mentioned above.
Availability and price of the Huawei Mate X
The price of the Huawei Mate X is priced at 2,299 euros, about US $ 2,600 and available in mid-2019. As a reference, the Galaxy Fold has an initial price of US $ 1,980, so it is possible that the Huawei cell phone is not Far from that price.
This is how the cell phone is fully deployed.
Juan Garzon / CNET
Huawei Mate X: Features and specifications
- Display: 8 inches (OLED) when fully open. In cellular mode the main one is 6.6 inches and the other part is 6.38 inches
- Aspect ratio: 8: 4.1 (tablet mode), 19.5: 9 and 25: 9 in mobile mode
- Processor: Kirin 980
- RAM: 8GB
- Storage: 512GB
- Connectivity: Up to 5G with Balong 5000 modem – Maximum speeds of 4.6Gbps
- OS: Android Pie
- Battery: 4,500mAh (divided into two)
- Fast charge: 55W (watts) – Charge 0 to 85 percent in 30 minutes
- Fingerprint reader: S, side integrated in the ignition button
- Color: Interstellar Blue (blue)
- Thickness: 5.4mm (open) and 11mm (closed)
- Dual SIM: S, it has two SIM card slots (one is only 5G) and the other allows NM Card storage.
First impression
The Huawei Mate X is postulated as the foldable phone with better hardware implementation, integrating even the possibility of using a single screen in more ways than the Galaxy Fold and, although in that aspect it is similar to the Royole FlexPai, without a doubt the Mate X is Look much better with better finishes.
For now, the Huawei Mate X is emerging as the most attractive folding cell that has been announced and one of the few compatible with 5G.
However, there are things that remain behind and although neither of the two custom interfaces offered by the two companies are the most admired, I consider that the one of best recent evolution has been that of Samsung.
Something clear is that it is just the beginning of this kind of flexible or foldable cell phones and they need to be available to really know what they offer and know if they are worth it.
Huawei Mate X vs. Galaxy Fold
|
Huawei Mate X |
Galaxy Fold |
| 8 inches (could be divided into 6.6 and 6.38 inches) |
Two: 7.3 inches flexible + 4.6 inches outside |
| 2,480×2,200 (2,480×1,148 and 2,480×892) pixels |
2,152×1,536 pixels and 1,950×840 pixels |
| 414pp |
402ppp / 320ppp |
| Android Pie (EMUI) |
Android Pie (One UI) |
| 2.8GHz Kirin 980 (8 cores) |
Snapdragon 855 |
| 512GB |
512GB |
| Only with NM Card |
Do not |
| Four: 40 megapixels + 16 MP + 8MP + another unspecified (possibly 3D depth) |
Four: 12 megapixels (variable of f / 1.5 and f / 2.4) with optical stabilization (77 degrees) + wide angle of 16 megapixels (f / 2.2 of 12 degrees) + 12 megapixel telephoto (f / 2.4 of 45 degrees) with stabilization Optics + (on deck) 10 megapixels (f / 2.2) |
| N / A |
N / A |
| The backs can be used as front depending on how you use the phone |
Double: 10 megapixels (f / 1.9) + 8 megapixels (to detect depth and with f / 2.2) |
| 8GB |
12GB |
| 4,500mAh |
4,380mAh |
| Do not |
Do not |
| Up to 5G, USB-C |
4G LTE, USB-C |
| S |
S |
| Do not |
Do not |
| Power button side |
Power button side |
| Do not |
Do not |
| N / A |
N / A |
| Do not |
S and reversible |
| Only one screen that fulfills the functions of three screens, can execute up to 2 apps at once (active), you can expand the storage, but it touches with a specialized card, it is compatible with 5G networks, it has cameras like those of the P30, be available only in one color (for now). |
It has six cameras (including front cameras) that are like those of the Galaxy S10, can be charged wirelessly and can load other devices in the same way, be available in four colors. |
| 161.3×78.3x11mm (phone) 161.3×146.2×5.4-11mm (tablet) |
N / A |
| 295 grams |
N / A |
| About US $ 2,600 (2,299 euros) |
US $ 1980 |
CNET in Spain will be in February in Barcelona to bring you all the details of the MWC in that city.
