Huawei Mate X is the 5G foldable phone we’ve been waiting for – and we love it

There was an audible gasp in a room full of tech press as Huawei unveiled what is likely not only going to be the standout product of MWC 2019, but of the year as a whole.

The Huawei Mate X is the brand’s first foldable phone, and it’s a gorgeous slab of futuristic design and tech. It’s got super-fast 5G connectivity, an all-new Leica camera array and a flexible OLED that not only expands to an 8-inch ‘tablet’ but actually looks like a phone we’d want to use when it’s folded away.

I got to spend a really short amount of time looking at the Mate X – I unfortunately wasn’t allowed to touch, use or fold the device – and I haven’t been this excited about a mobile since the original iPhone.

Related: What is 5G

Huawei Mate X release date and price

At the time of writing, no price or release date information has been made available, but that might change during the Huawei MWC keynote. We’ll update this article with more information when it emerges.

Considering Samsung’s Galaxy Fold will cost £1800/$1950 when it launches in April, we’d expect the Huawei Mate X to have an equally steep price.

The most eye-catching feature of the Mate X is, of course, the foldable screen. Unlike the Samsung Galaxy Fold with its single outer screen and a separate one on the inside, the Mate X has one 8-inch screen that folds down to give you a 6.6-inch screen on the front and a secondary 6.38-inch screen on the back.

When it’s unfurled it looks almost like the Kindle Oasis, thanks to a curved grip placed on one side. This is where all the camera stuff lives, but it also gives you a comfortable way to hold the device one-handed. It measures a mere 5.4mm thin when unfolded and it looked absolutely stunning up close.

The issue with foldable phones was always going to be how they functioned when folded. Take the truly awful Royole FlexPai for example. This folded down into a wedge that made it practically unusable and a pain to fit into your pocket. There’s no such issue here, as when the Mate X is folded it folds completely flat.

Drag your eyes away from the unmatched industrial design and the Mate X continues to push boundaries. You’ve got a Kirin 980 7nm chipset inside, paired with the Balong 5000 5G modem for theoretical 5G speeds of 4.5 Gbps. In real terms Huawei claimed you’ll be able to download a 1GB movie in three seconds.

There’s a 4500 mAh battery inside too, and it looks like it’s a split battery with each half sitting either side of the folding mechanism. However this wasn’t confirmed during our session. That’s a big battery, but there’s also a lot of screen to power, so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of endurance this thing has. Battery life remains a big question mark hanging over these devices.

When it comes to charging, Huawei is once again pushing things so far forward it leaves Samsung and Apple in the dust. The Mate X has 55W SuperCharge wired charging, meaning that huge cell can go from 0-85% in 30 minutes.

There’s a new Leica camera system here too, however no specific details have yet been shared. Whether that’s because Huawei is waiting for the keynote or it hasn’t quite nailed down the final specs remains to be seen. It maybe even be that it’s the same camera that’ll sit on the upcoming Huawei P30, and the company doesn’t want to spoil that launch quite yet.

Up until the time reveal of the Huawei Mate X, I wasn’t sold on the idea of foldable phones. Samsung struggled to make a strong case for them with the Galaxy Fold, with that device seemingly sacrificing a decent phone experience to achieve the new design. With the Mate X that doesn’t seem to be an issue. This looks like it’ll be fantastic whether it’s folded down into a phone or unfurled into a tablet. There will, of course, be issues – this is very much a first-gen product – but if you’re set on picking up a foldable phone this year, then the Mate X feels like the one to choose.

Are you as excited about foldable phones as we are? Let us know on Twitter @TrustedReviews.

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