It's only taken a few days but the Samsung Fold's leadership in the folding phablet business is already under threat. The Huawei Mate X was unveiled at Mobile World Congress today and while it's slightly larger than its Korean competitor, most reports suggest that it's easier to grasp. And, unlike the Galaxy Fold, Huawei's approach gives you two external displays that open into 8-inches of viewing goodness.
The wraparound display is 11mm thick when closed with the rear display sized 6.38-inches and the front display at 6.6-inches. The difference makes room for the four cameras and flash. When opened, at its thinnest section, the Mate X is just 5.4mm thick – which is thinner than an iPad Pro.
Opened out in full, you get a 2480 x 2200 pixel resolution. Closed, the rear comes in at 2480 x 892, while the front is slightly denser at 2480 x 1148 pixels. By wrapping the display around the outside, rather than folding it internally, Huawei ends up making the bend gentler on the display – perhaps to placate users who are concerned their foldable display will develop a nasty crease over time.
This is powered by Huawei's bespoke Kirin 980 processor and the handset also boasts 5G and a 4,500mAh battery.
Huawei Mate X specifications
Operating system
Android 9.0 (Pie)
Display
Unfolded: 8", 2480 x 2200 Folded: Folded: 6.6" at 2480 x 1148 for front panel, 6.38" at 2480 x 892 for back panel
Camera
Leica camera, 40 MP (Wide Angle Lens) + 16 MP (Ultra Wide Angle Lens) + 8 MP (Telephoto))
Body
Folded: 78.3 X 161.3 X 5.4 11mm Unfolded: 146.2 x 161.3 x 5.4-11mm
CPU
HUAWEI Kirin 980 CPU: 2 x Cortex-A76 Based 2.6 GHz + 2 x Cortex-A76 Based 1.92 GHz + 4 x Cortex-A55 1.8 GHz GPU: Mali-G76 NPU: Neural Network Processing Unit Balong 5000
Memory
8 GB RAM + 512 GB ROM, NM card: support up to 256 GB
Network
Primary SIM: 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G Secondary SIM: 2G, 3G, 4G
GPS
GPS (L1 + L5 dual band) / AGPS / Glonass / BeiDou / Galileo (E1 + E5a dual band) / QZSS (L1 + L5 dual band)
Wireless Comms
802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, Bluetooth 5.0
Battery
4,500mAh,
Huawei Mate X Australian pricing
Offical pricing hasn't yet been revealed for Australia but we do now that it will start at €2299. That's a whopping $3700 locally and then you'll need to add GST. It's about 10% dearer than the Galaxy Fold is expected to cost.
Huawei Mate X release date
During Mobile World Congress, Huawei’s consumer CEO, Richard Yu said the Mate X will be available from the middle of 2019.
Originally published in Lifehacker Australia on 25 February 2019: https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2019/02/huawei-mate-x-australian-specs-price-and-release-date/