HUAWEI showcased the interestingly complex and advanced HUAWEI Mate X, a foldable smartphone that is unlike anything that we could imagine a foldable smartphone would be. Instead of folding inward, the display of the Mate X folds outward. That also means that when the HUAWEI Mate X is folded, the display wraps around the side to the back.
We did not actually see the HUAWEI Mate X making it into the smartphone market mix in Malaysia. Which also means we did not even get to see it in person. Still, it made the foldable smartphone market a little bit more interesting than what it already is. It gives the foldable smartphone market something to think about, because it was an unconventional solution to a conventional problem.
This year is still about foldable smartphones apparently. Of course, there was the Samsung Galaxy Fold that came in with a large display that folds in. There is an external display of course when the display is folded in. Then there is the Motorola RAZR and most recently the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip that was just announced two weeks ago. Oh yes, the Z Flip is going to make it in Malaysia.
Of course, HUAWEI is not going to be the only one missing out. For this year they are launching their brand-new HUAWEI Mate Xs. Like the Mate X we saw in CES 2019 last year, the HUAWEI Mate Xs features the familiar Falcon Wing Hinge. The one found on the HUAWEI Mate Xs is supposed to be sturdier than the original Mate X though, at least that is what they are claiming.
Like the Mate X of 2020, it also features a display that folds out into a larger display instead of folding in. Which also means that the Mate Xs will have a wrap-around display as well. Folded in, the main display measures in at 6-inch. That extends to 8-inch once popped out. Yes, it is a spring loaded mechanism, only for the first part of the unfold though.
As one of the leaders in 5G infrastructures and technology, the HUAWEI Mate Xs comes with 5G capabilities too. While it does have dual SIM capability, the other SIM tray can only support up to 4G connectivity, understandably as well.
Of course, a new flashy flagship has to come with a flashy processor. For that, the HUAWEI Mate Xs gets a HiSilicon Kirin 990 System on a Chip (SoC). Of course, that also means that the HUAWEI Mate Xs is perfect for multitaskers with multi-window capabilities built-into the User Interface (UI). You can even open two instances of a single app if the app supports App Multiplier feature. Imagine having two instances of WhatsApp running at the same time.
Instead of having two or even three camera arrangements though, HUAWEI has gone quite conventional with a single camera array. The single camera array is still a system of HUAWEI’s proven SuperSensing 40-Megapixel quad camera set-up. Supporting the main camera is a 16-Megapixel ultra-wide shooter, 8-Megapixel telephoto lens, and a 3D depth sensor for better Bokeh photos.
A large screen, as usual, needs a large battery. The HUAWEI Mate Xs packs a 4,500mAh battery. While that may not sound that big compared to equivalent 8-inch tablets, you must remember that HUAWEI smartphones do come with some very impressive battery life, according to user testimonies anyway. If that is not enough for you in a day though it charges at 55w; that is as fast as some notebook PC these days. The notebook that typed out this release, for example, charges at minimum of 40W. With 55w charging, the HUAWEI Mate Xs charges from empty to full within 40 minutes.
teThe HUAWEI Mate Xs is said to be sold globally next month, March 2020. Earlier in the presentation Richard Yu did say that the new smartphone will be expensive. How expensive? EU€ 2,499 expensive. That is about MYR 11,500 and that is for the 8GB RAM and 512GB storage variant. Yes, it does come with 5G connectivity. The HUAWEI Mate Xs comes with their very own EMUI 10.0.1 and HUAWEI Mobile Services based on the Android operating system. It does not support Google’s Play Store though.