Huawei Mate X: Huawei shows its version of foldable
Huawei has a stand at the CES. Despite the trade war with the Trump administration. That's good, because the Huawei Mate X, Huawei's foldable phone, is on show at the stand. A first hands-on shows that you already know the hardware and that the foldable implementation is an exciting solution.
Royole has tried. The less we talk about it, the better. Samsung tried it and it worked quite well. Now Huawei is trying it with a foldable phone. After it was shown behind glass at the MWC, experts were allowed to touch the foldable at the CES in Las Vegas.
Amazingly, it is not entirely clear why and how Huawei was given a stand at CES. This is because the ongoing trade war between China and the USA prohibits US companies from doing business with Huawei. Theoretically, this should include the stand rental fee at CES, not to mention the construction of the stand. Nevertheless: Huawei is there, showing the P30 Pro, the Mate 30 Pro and the Mate X. And some wearables and headphones too, but somehow only a few or only those who are waiting for the phones are interested in them.
The whole thing, according to the first hands-on, can be made short. Because you already know a lot about the phone.
The parts you already know
Behind the foldable screen is a platform you already know. There's the Kirin 980, simply with a 5G modem attachment. Like the Kirin platform, this is developed by Huawei itself and, according to a PR person at the stand, is "the fastest 5G chip ever". This already describes the biggest difference between the P30 Pro and the Mate X. Otherwise, there are a bunch of details that differ, but nothing that could have a massive impact on the device's performance. The test of the phone will show that.
Because here's the thing: With the P30 Pro, the hardware template of the Mate X, Huawei has chosen a base system that couldn't be better. The P30 Pro is the perfected implementation of a hardware configuration. Everything is just right. Huawei is taking a risk that something might fall apart. But the first impression at least partially dispels this suspicion. Of course, after ten minutes of pressing on it under supervision, the findings are lacking, but I know the P30 Pro better than any other phone of 2019. In terms of feel, the Mate X is quite close.
The parts you don't know yet
However, the performance is only as good as the foldable screen. This is the main selling point of the phone, which is priced somewhere north of 2,000 Swiss francs internationally. When you hold the phone closed in your hand, it is only slightly larger than the P30 Pro. A little heavier and a little blockier perhaps, but it definitely feels like a smartphone. This is worth mentioning, as the Samsung Galaxy Fold is by no means uncomfortable to hold when folded, but it does feel very unfamiliar. But the Mate X is not designed symmetrically. If we make the comparison with a book: With the Samsung Galaxy Fold, the two pages are the same size. On the Mate X, the front cover is larger than the back cover. The cameras are located on the right-hand side of the front cover. However, this makes no difference when unfolded.
Because as soon as you open the Mate X, the home screen of Huawei's Emui user interface enlarges. The man at the stand explained that stock Android cannot do this and that only Emui can. That's why Emui is the way of the future. Or something like that. In any case, he likes Emui far better than I do. Well, he has to, because he's paid by Huawei.
Emui is definitely fold-compatible. Works quite well so far. The hinge doesn't feel flimsy or too stiff, so it makes a nice trap. Also nice is the button that locks the foldable screen at the back of the phone. This prevents the entire phone from accidentally unfolding.
You can see the fold in the screen when you look at the Mate X from the side, but much less than with the Samsung Galaxy Fold. If you look straight at the unfolded screen on both phones, you practically don't see the fold.
So much for the Huawei Mate X at Huawei's mysterious stand in the USA. It's funny that a company that is not allowed to do business with the USA and has not sold phones in the USA for several years is proudly and cheekily displaying its flagships. Even funnier: the devices are very popular beyond the curiosity factor. Be that as it may, you can be sure that I will be testing the phone, even if I could already draw a conclusion with a reasonably clear conscience. <p
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.