Huawei takes foldable phone fight to Samsung with 5G Mate X

Huawei takes foldable phone fight to Samsung with 5G Mate X

At Mobile World Congress 2019, Huawei has drawn the curtains on its new flagship Mate X, a 5G, foldable phone with a 6.6in FullView OLED display that unfolds like a book to a more tablet-like size of 8ins.

Similar in form to the Samsung Galaxy Fold announced last week, the 2-in-1 Mate X transforms via Huawei’s falcon wing mechanical hinge and remains only 5.4mm thick when super-sized. 

The now familiar benefits of the dual-screen mean that in Split Screen mode, an image can be dragged to an email or memos can be written during internet browsing, say. And when unfolded, you have some serious screen real estate for movie watching.

A 7nm multi-mode Balong 5000 modem chipset (a world’s first) unlocks 5G mobile network support and is supposedly capable of 4.6Gps download speeds on the theoretical sub-6GHz band. The Mate X’s dual SIM caters for both 4G and 5G.

A massive 4500mAh battery is bolstered by Huawei’s 55W SuperCharge charger, which can re-juice the battery from 0 per cent to 85 per cent in just 30 minutes.

The handset features re-designed Leica cameras, with the single trio of cameras on the back panel playing the roles of both front and rear cameras thanks to the foldable design. 

The power switch is integrated into the fingerprint reader, and there is 512GB storage (expandable by Huawei’s proprietary nano card up to 256GB) and 8GB of RAM onboard.

The Mate X comes in a brand-new ‘Interstellar Blue’ finish, however more out of this world is its price. At €2,299 (about £2000 and $2600, then), it’s even more expensive than the $1980 Samsung Galaxy Fold.

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Becky Roberts

Becky is the managing editor of What Hi-Fi? and, since her recent move to Melbourne, also the editor of Australian Hi-Fi magazine. During her 10+ years in the hi-fi industry, she has reviewed all manner of audio gear, from budget amplifiers to high-end speakers, and particularly specialises in headphones and head-fi devices. In her spare time, Becky can often be found running, watching Liverpool FC and horror movies, and hunting for gluten-free cake.