Huawei Mate X review: a 5G folding smartphone that costs more than the Galaxy Fold

Huawei Mate X: specs

Let's start with the main specs to know about this amazing 5G folding screen smartphone.

	HUAWEI Mate X 5G Phablet Global Version - Blue
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Huawei Mate X: groundbreaking design

There is no point beating about the bush: the Huawei Mate X is an astonishingly beautiful device — and it's one of the most futuristic looking smartphones out there.

The first obvious thing to note about the Huawei Mate X is that it folds — and incredibly so. You basically get two screens on one phone (think Nubia X) that can also turn into one big screen (Nubia X can't do that). In short, you get a smartphone and a tablet all in one — but there is much more to it than that.

The front of the phone is basically all-display — you get an impressive 6.6 inches of screen space (compared to just 4.6 inches on the Samsung Galaxy Fold). On the back, there is a 6.4 inch thinner screen — it's a good option to turn to when you want to save battery or to watch a 21:9 movie.

The battery saving option is actually a really nice feature to have onboard with the Huawei Mate X. As the phone uses flexible OLED displays (and not LCD displays), it can fire up individual pixels and leave the unused pixels unilluminated. This is power saving gold and something Huawei are putting forward as an important selling point.

To the left of the secondary screen, you will sport a vertical bar that houses the phone's triple camera setup, fingerprint scanner and power button (which are the same thing) as well as a USB-C port for charging.

Some of the biggest concerns with complicated devices like these are the moving parts and their durability. The phone currently uses a clasp to fold — and its wearing out is something that users might worry about. Huawei have mentioned that the clasp is necessary at this point for a complete fold but it may later be replaced by a more sophisticated hinge. The Mate X has successfully passed 100,000 folds in lab-condition stress tests and is generally praised for its solid build.

One more thing to watch for, though, is scratch resistance. As the phone's flexible displays are plastic and not glass, resistance to damage can be an issue.

Huawei Mate X: what's inside?

Another big thing about the Mate x (aside from the foldable screen) is that the phone will support 5G connectivity — thanks to the Balong 5000 5G modem. Huawei promises that you will be able to download a 1GB movie in just a few seconds.

The Mate X runs on the speedy Kirin 980 processor and there is 512GB of storage onboard — this can be further complemented with 256GB on Huawei's proprietary storage card.

There is a massive battery inside as well (in fact, there are two batteries) giving you 4,500mAh in total. This is more than with the Samsung Galaxy Fold, but, then again, the Mate X also sports larger displays — so, this should add up to about the same usage and standby time.

Huawei Mate X: how much is it and how to get it?

We are entering an entirely new era when the newly released Samsung Galaxy phone is actually cheaper than the Huawei Mate X. Having started out as a manufacturer of predominantly budget smartphones, Huawei seems to have quickly got used to a spot at the top — and some of their recent releases have rivaled world's top brands not only in functionality but also in price.

Thus, the new Huawei Mate X actually makes the Samsung Galaxy look affordable — sporting a massive price tag of $2,600. The phone will be available internationally this year — but no specific countries and dates have been named.

Huawei Mate X: early verdict

While there is still a lot that is unknown about the Huawei Mate X, the first impression is that we may finally be getting a foldable dual screen smartphone that manages not to look outrageously unrealistic. The Mate X seems to be a well-built powerful device that's taking things into a new direction. While we may debate the practical use for a phone that can also be a tablet — the idea is certainly an interesting one. And, in this case, the execution is impressive.