Recent developments in the Mobile World Congress 2019 saw Samsung win the crowd with its introduction of the Galaxy Fold, but it seems like Huawei is stepping up to the competition with an even thinner, 5G-equipped foldable phone, the Huawei Mate X.
Its key features include a high strength, flexible 8-inch OLED panel that bends backwards, Huawei’s flagship mobile processor—Kirin 980, 8GB of RAM, 512GB of storage drive, a 4,500mAh-strong battery, and a Balong 5000 5G modem to validate its claim as the “world’s fastest 5G phone”.
Huawei CBG’s CEO Richard Yu said, “The HUAWEI Mate X’s revolutionary form factor is achieved by Huawei’s relentless effort in R&D. It represents a voyage into the uncharted. As a new breed of smartphones, HUAWEI Mate X combines 5G, foldable screen, AI and an all-new mode of interfacing to provide consumers with an unprecedented user experience. The HUAWEI Mate X will be the first key for consumers to open the door to 5G smart living.”
Huawei Mate X screens and mechanical hinge
The Mate X folds backwards, as opposed to Samsung’s Galaxy Fold that shuts inward like a book closing. Its three-fold screen configurations divide to a 6.6-inch main display, 6.4-inch rear display, and when completely unfolded turns into an 8-inch main tablet display. Its flexible OLED panel ensure images come in great clarity and detail while its “falcon wing” mechanical hinge supports the phone’s movement and guarantees its durability.
5G Modem Chipset and HUAWEI SuperCharge
At its core is Huawei’s flagship processor, the Kirin 980, and the Balong 5000 chipset—capable of “Sub-6G” downlink speed of 4.6 gbps, enough to download 1GB of data in three seconds. There’s also an impressive 4,500 mAh battery accompanied by Huawei’s 55W SuperCharge technology allowing the phone to be recharged from 0% to 85% in 30 minutes.
There’s not much information yet on how the Mate X’s camera system would fare, but if there’s any indication of its competency, a triple Leica-branded camera system is found in the vertical bar that runs down on the side of the phone; it also contains the Mate X’s fingerprint scanner, power button, and internal hardware.
There’s still a lot to be revealed in the phone-tablet hybrids category, but Huawei’s Mate X certainly sets the bar for higher foldable smartphones to come. Huawei will start selling the Mate X for $2,600 (P135,294) in the middle of 2019. It comes in a new Interstellar Blue color that gives ode to the timeless beauty of technology.
