The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 has a new rival, as Huawei's Mate X2 has just launched. And it looks like the smartest folding phone we've seen so far.
Although Huawei has apparently copied some of Samsung's design when moving from its first-gen to second-gen foldable, it's offering several unique features of its own. While the software, availability and price might be dealbreakers for many shoppers, you can't deny that today's launch presentation shows off one impressive phone.
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Huawei Mate X2 price and release dateHuawei gives the price of the Mate X2 as 17,999 yuan for the 256GB version and 18,999 yuan for the 512GB version. Converted to USD, that comes to $2,784 and $2,939 respectively. That's almost another $1,000 on top of what the already expensive Galaxy Z Fold 2 costs.
If you do want to spend almost three grand on a phone, pre-orders for the Mate X2 open in China on February 25. There's no news yet on if this phone will reach the U.K. however, but it's basically a dead cert that this phone won't make it to the United States.
Huawei Mate X2 design and colorsLike the Galaxy Z Fold 2, the Mate X2 has a normal-sized 6.45-inch display on the front of the phone that then unfolds to reveal a much larger 8.01-inch display. It's a substantial difference from the Mate X, which had a single screen that bent over the exterior of the phone and around the hinge.
Both displays run at 90Hz, while the Z Fold 2 offers 60Hz for the external display and 120Hz for the inside panel.
By comparison, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 features a 6.2-inch external display and a 7.6-inch screen when unfolded. Plus, there's no internal camera on the Mate X2, which means that the 8-inch panel offers a completely uninterrupted view.
The shape of the phone is interesting, too. Huawei's given the Mate X2 a wedge-shaped design, with the phone tapering from right to left when opened. This was done to let Huawei fit an impressive selection of cameras on the back, as well as to manipulate the phone's center of gravity. Huawei claims that the phone is easy to use one-handed because of the uneven design.
Huawei also boasts the Mate X2 has a "perfect" fold, thanks to a water-drop cavity within the hinge that cradles the display. That lets the phone close up without a gap, and allegedly removes the typical display crease found in current foldables like the Z Fold 2 or Samsung Galaxy Z Flip.
The Mate X2 comes in one of four colors: Crystal Blue, Crystal Pink, White and Black.
Huawei Mate X2 cameras
With this being a Huawei flagship, we again see Leica-branded cameras. Mounted in a rectangular block on the back is a quartet of sensors. The main one is a 50MP RYYB sensor, Huawei's unique camera that offers excellent low-light photography.
Joining this main shooter are a 16MP ultrawide camera plus two telephoto cameras; a 12MP lens capable of 3x optical zoom and another 8MP camera that can manage 10x optical zoom. This is a much better setup than the triple camera system on the back of the Galaxy Z Fold 2, even if Samsung does offer a selfie camera on the inside display, too.
There are another two cameras on the front in a pill-shaped punch-hole notch, located in the top left corner. These are a 16MP selfie camera, and a color temperature sensor. If that's not enough for your selfie needs, the quad cameras can be used as front cameras too, by opening the phone and checking the shot in the front display.
Huawei Mate X2 processorRunning the show is Huawei's Kirin 9000 chipset, a 5G-enabled chip first seen on the Huawei Mate 40 Pro. It offers roughly similar performance to the Snapdragon 888 chipset found in the Samsung Galaxy S21 series. That's accompanied by 8GB of RAM, and either 256GB or 512GB of storage depending on the version of the phone.
You only get Android 10 as your operating system. however, which is starting to look out of date now that Android 11 is widespread, and Android 12 is on the way. That hasn't stopped Huawei from making some unique foldable-focussed optimizations to the software, such as a split keyboard for typing with the phone open, plus the option to open multiple app windows for multitasking.
Huawei Mate X2 battery and charging
The Mate X2 features a 4,500 mAh battery. When the phone does run low on power, it's rechargeable using a speedy 55W wired charger, which thoroughly beats the Z Fold 2's 25W charger for speed.
Huawei Mate X2: Still no Google appsOf course, we can't ignore the fact this phone won't have Google apps built-in, thanks to continuing U.S. sanctions that prevent Google from working with Huawei. However, as a final part of the announcement, Huawei says that it's offering its new HarmonyOS operating system for its phones from April.\
It's been rumored for some time that Huawei would move away from Android and regain some of the control it lost from the U.S. sanctions, and the Mate X2 will mark the first step in the rollout of the new software. Let's hope it can still offer all our favorite apps without any help from Google.
Huawei Mate X2: OutlookIt's encouraging to see that the problems with the U.S. government hasn't stopped Huawei from producing an ambitious foldable phone. Even if the Mate X2 doesn't become a sales smash outside China (and at that price, it's very unlikely), it still shows Huawei's a force to be reckoned with.
Huawei Mate X2
Huawei surprised smartphone enthusiasts when it revealed a foldable smartphone a few weeks before Samsung s foldable phone made its debut. While the Galaxy Fold got bashed for its various issues, Huawei quietly went back to work and made sure that it had a perfectly functioning device before putting it on sale. One could consider the Mate X as a trial run for Huawei to test its first-ever foldable phone. But now that we know Huawei has ironed out all the various hardware issues and bugs, the recently announced Huawei Mate X2 is definitely the smartphone to watch out for. The phone comes with a 6.7-inch foldable OLED display offering a resolution of 1148 x 2480 pixels. Delivering the processing power for the Mate X2 is the company s flagship chipset, the Kirin 990 5G. The phone packs 8GB of RAM and 512GB of onboard storage and runs on EMUI 10. The camera specs are impressive as expected because the phone is equipped with a 48 MP + 16 MP + 8 MP triple camera setup on the back and for selfies, you use the same triple camera system, with the difference being that you use the rear screen to view yourself. The battery backup for this smartphone is great thanks to a 5000mAh battery that supports 40W fast charging. Some of the popular Huawei mobile phones include the Huawei Mate 30 Pro, and the P40 Lite.
Huawei Mate X2 Price In India
The Huawei Mate X2 price in India is expected to be Rs. 1,92,990. The Huawei Mate X2 launch is scheduled for April 24, 2020. The 8GB 512GB model is expected to be priced at around Rs. 1,92,990 and will be available only in one color variant.
Huawei Mate X2 Details6.7 Inch Foldable OLED Display
The most impressive feature of the Huawei Mate X2 is definitely the foldable display. The front display measures 6.6 inches when folded and when fully unfolded, it measures 8 inches across. The display has a pixel density of 408 ppi and a resolution of 1148 x 2480 pixels.
Kirin 990 5G Chipset, Triple Rear Camera
Huawei has been building excellent flagship-grade chipsets for a while and always installs the best of the lot in its Mate series. The Mate X2 is equipped with the powerful Kirin 990 5G octa-core chipset which has a Mali-G76 MP16 GPU on board to manage the graphics processing work like games etc. On the software front, the Mate X2 runs on Android 10 via Huawei s custom Android ROM, EMUI. As for camera specs, you get a triple camera setup with a 48MP primary shooter, a 16MP ultrawide camera, and an 8MP telephoto lens for shots where you need to zoom in. All the cameras feature optical image stabilization which means you can shoot very steady videos. For selfies, you can switch to the rear display and use the same camera setup to snap the perfect selfie.
5000mAh Battery, 55W Fast Charging, Connectivity Options
Huawei smartphones are generally known for their exceptional battery life and excellent charging speeds. The Mate X2 is no different as it features a massive 5000mAh battery and also supports 55W Huawei SuperCharge. The fingerprint sensor is built into the side-mounted power button. Connectivity options include dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, and A-GPS. There is no 3.5mm port for your wired headphones so you ll have to use Bluetooth earphones/headphones.
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Huawei Mate X2: Tasting the future with this nearly $3,000 foldable phone
Will foldable phones ever take off in the mainstream, or will they remain expensive toys owned by wealthy tech enthusiasts? Huawei is making a strong case in favor of these bendy gadgets with its recent launch of the Mate X2.
After using the Mate X2 for a week, I can declare that it has the best foldable phone hardware currently commercially available (though only in China for now), eclipsing Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 2. (You can read about that in detail below.) The cameras, typical of Huawei phones, take excellent photos in all kinds of lighting conditions. Plus, multitasking is so much easier compared to a regular phone thanks to the inner display, which expands to the size of a tablet when opened.
Huawei put the Mate X2 through a Samsung-inspired redesign, so the device opens and closes like a book instead of folding backward like its predecessors. This design switch also means the Mate X2 has two screens instead of one: an outer panel the size of a full-fledged phone as well as a tablet-size inner display, which is entirely notch-free. Both screens are crisp and responsive, and handoff when you unfurl the device is wonderfully seamless.
Beyond offering a smooth folding phone experience, Huawei didn't skimp on other features. Most notable is its excellent camera system consisting of some of the best smartphone shooters money can buy, including the appearance of a periscope-style telephoto camera -- possibly making the Mate X2 the first foldable to get such a lens. There's also a powerful processor in the form of the Kirin 9000.
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Given its astronomical price tag -- nearly $3,000 -- I'm pleased Huawei didn't hold back on accessories: In its box you'll find a bundled fast charger, wired headphones and a handy vegan-leather case, which has a stand for propping up the phone when expanded.
Admittedly, the Mate X2 has obvious drawbacks. The sky-high price tag puts it out of range for most people and it's a China-only release, though I suspect Huawei will launch the next-gen Mate internationally. Like all newer Huawei devices, the Mate X2 doesn't run Google apps like Gmail or Google Maps due to US sanctions. Fortunately, you can access services like Gmail on the native web browser, and I easily managed to load my Gmail account on Huawei's native email application. Finally, even though I like big screens, the phone is simply too bulky for me.
Even with those imperfections, I think Huawei's third-gen foldable is a phone that demands and deserves your attention, even if you can't buy it outside of China: It demonstrates the potential of foldables and where they might take the smartphone industry. But the Mate X2 is less about its impressive specs than it is about giving the world a taste of the future. Still, I don't think we'll see the real potential of foldable phones until Huawei (or Samsung) can bring the price much lower -- say, $1,000 to $1,200 -- and build slimmer, more portable foldables.
Design: Third time's the charm
The Mate X2 represents Huawei's third attempt at a foldable phone, and this time it seems to have nailed it. The company took a page out of Samsung's playbook with the Mate X2, overhauling its design to feature an inward folding screen instead of a front-facing one like last year's Mate X -- which left it continuously exposed to potentially damaging keys or coins in your pocket.
Using a phone with two displays has obvious trade-offs: The Mate X2 is thick and heavy. The phone can't comfortably be used one-handed, and it was cumbersome to lug around during my routine hikes. But Huawei found a crafty workaround to help reduce the hefty feeling of a 295-gram (10.4-ounce) phone by employing a wedge-shaped design, like a doorstopper. The Mate X2 is thickest near the camera module, then gradually slims down to 4.4mm, pushing the phone's center of gravity to its thicker side.
Also key to the redesign is a new hinge that forms a teardrop shape when folded, helping the screens fold with a narrower gap. Inside the mechanism, there's a zirconium-based liquid metal that Huawei says is twice as strong as the Falcon Wing hinge from its previous models.
What's the exterior display like?
The Mate X2's exterior screen is basically a full-size phone. It takes the form of a 6.45-inch OLED panel with a pill-shaped notch housing two front-facing cameras. The display has a 2,700x1,160-pixel resolution (456 ppi), meaning its image quality is better than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2. Because of the Mate X2's ample exterior screen, you can depend on it for day-to-day tasks without needing to open up the phone for when you want to type an email or read a long article. This was an issue CNET's Jessica Delcourt faced with the taller Galaxy Z Fold 2 -- she found the keyboard too small on the exterior screen, making the typing experience feel cramped. No such feeling with the Mate X2.
Interior display: Is there a crease?
The real fun begins when you unfurl the Mate X2, especially if you're a big-screen lover. It's tough not to marvel at the engineering feat the exemplary inner screen represents. When open, the Mate X2 runs on a tablet-size display entirely free of notches (and creases to a certain extent, too). The 90Hz interior screen is crisp, smooth and responsive.
I mostly didn't notice or feel a crease, except for when I maneuvered the phone to certain angles. What I'm saying is that I had to try to find the crease, it wasn't obvious, so it didn't bother me much at all. One of my favorite things to do was use Android's split-screen mode to run two apps side by side. It was ideal for multitasking, and having a tablet-size display to work from was a dream.
Mate X2 has epic zoom skills
One of Huawei's superpowers has always been its cameras, and the Mate X2's quad camera module is no exception. Leading the pack is a 50-megapixel main sensor accompanied by an ultrawide lens and two telephoto lenses, including a periscope-style one capable of 10x optical zoom. Remember, 10x optical zoom is the highest level of lossless zoom currently available on smartphone cameras, so even the Samsung or Apple flagships lack this coveted feature. It was my first time using a device with this level of zoom, and I was left astonished with the kind of images it captured.
As far as digital zoom goes, the Mate X2 can zoom in 100x. Overall, the camera took detailed and color accurate photos in all kinds of lighting conditions. I also liked being able to unfold the device to take a higher-quality selfie with the rear cameras.
Battery and performance
There's a Kirin 9000 processor with eight cores under the Mate X2's hood, along with 8GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of storage. Huawei has added support for storage expansion (256GB) via its proprietary card slot. The battery isn't massive given this is a device with an 8-inch OLED screen, but when the phone eventually died, the fast charger fully revitalized the battery in an hour.
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