At a press conference at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), Huawei presented information about its Mate X folding smartphone for the first time. The 2,299 Euro expensive device is expected to be launched in mid-2019 as soon as the first 5G mobile phone networks become available.
Compared to the Samsung Galaxy Fold, which will be launched in May for 2,000 Euro, Huawei is pursuing a different display concept. The display of the Huawei Mate X, which can be used both in the foldable and in the folded state, consists of a 6.6-inch main part with a resolution of 2,480 x 1,148 pixels and a second element with a 6.38-inch diagonal and a resolution of 2,420 x 892 pixels. When folded, the smartphone is controlled by the 6.6-inch display when folded out, creating an almost square display with an aspect ratio of 8:7.1. The 8-inch display with a resolution of 2,480 x 2,200 pixels is larger than the iPad Mini’s 7.9-inch display.
As Huawei explained during the conference, the elaborate mechanics of the joint consist of more than one hundred components, the development of which took about three years. With a thickness of only 11 mm when folded, the Mate X is currently the thinnest foldable smartphone.
One camera module for both operating modes
Due to the design of the smartphone, Huawei was able to install the camera module vertically to the left of the narrower display. Depending on the operating mode, the camera module can therefore be used either as a front or selfie camera or as a main camera.
5G modem
The components of the smartphone are already known from the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. The Mate X has a Kirin 980 processor, 8 GB RAM and 512 GB memory. Users who can dispense with the dual SIM function have the option of expanding the memory using a nano SD card. Also on board is the 5G modem Balong 5000, which is also responsible for connectivity to 2G, 3G and LTE (4G) mobile networks.
The battery is built into both halves of the smartphone just like Samsung’s split battery. The capacity is 4,500 mAh. The battery can be charged with 55 watts per USB type C. The updated SuperCharge generation is also used for the new MateBooks.
