Huawei Mate X Unveiled – A Galaxy Fold Killer Already?

With MWC 2019 underway, pretty much every major smartphone OEM is on board to unveil their plans and products that would define 2019 and the future ahead. With Xiaomi and Samsung done with their launches and keynotes, it’s about time Huawei showcases their technology.

Following the initial Huawei Mate X leaks earlier this week, Huawei has finally unveiled the Huawei Mate X at MWC 2019. The Huawei Mate X is the first foldable device that would support 5G out of the box and would be able to flex either way, just like the Samsung Galaxy Fold from earlier this week.

The newly-announced Huawei Mate X features a unique foldable design, the Kirin 980 SoC, the Balong 5000 5G modem, 8GB RAM and 512GB of UFS 2.1 internal storage. Furthermore, the device packs two batteries under the hood for a total of 4500mAh capacity for it power your device for some long sessions.

Unlike Samsung’s Galaxy F folding design, the design of Huawei’s folding device consists of an actual border than you could actually grip. Not only that, but with the help of that, Huawei has managed to squeeze in a fingerprint sensor as well as a host of other capabilities under the hood. When folded, one side of the Huawei Mate X reveals a 6.6-inch display on side on the grip side and another 6.38-inch display on the rear. When unfolded, the device reveals a beautiful 8-inch AMOLED panel.

And that’s definitely speaking volumes. Samsung’s Galaxy F, when folded, only reveals a 4.6-inch display, that too, that doesn’t extend all the way to the corners. This means that when the Galaxy Fold is folded, you’ll not only see some major bezels, but also a forehead and chin combo upfront.

Being a Huawei phone, Huawei continues its partnership with camera company, Lieca. With the Mate X, you get to see a 40MP wide shooter, a 16MP ultra-wide shooter, and an 8MP telephoto shooter to keep Huawei’s camera rankings on top. And while DxOMark hasn’t tested the device yet, Huawei has included a few more improvements to its camera to keep itself ahead of the game.

What’s incredible about the Huawei Mate X apart from its design is the lack of a notch. Huawei has completely ditched any front cameras and have opted to install them onto the grip of the device. This means that when the device is folded or unfolded, you would experience the Huawei Mate X’s display to its fullest, making the Huawei Mate X not only enjoyable for media consumption, but everyday use as well.

Powering all the internals is a job for the 4500mAh battery on the inside of the device. Not only does it have a large battery, but Huawei continues to dominate the charging front with the Huawei Mate X featuring support for Huawei’s in-house 55W SuperCharge technology that completely dwarfs Samsung’s charging technology.

Regarding pricing, you thought that the Samsung Galaxy Fold was expensive, the Huawei Mate X would retail for €2200 (US $2600). Huawei claims that the device would be available at an unconfirmed date around the middle of 2019. However, with US disparaging Huawei as much they could, it seems like the Huawei Mate X would be limited to certain European and Asian markets following the 5G revolution.