What you need to know
- Huawei launches its next-gen foldable device in China.
- It comes with a 7.85-inch foldable screen next to a 6.4-inches exterior screen.
- The device is powered by Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC.
The next-gen foldable device Huawei Mate X3 is now official in China. The successor to the Mate Xs 2 has been announced today, which claims to be the thinnest and lightest foldable device that the company has ever made.
The foldable model, unlike the predecessors, this time comes with an inward folding display accompanied by an exterior screen similar to the Galaxy Z Fold 4. The Mate X3 also comes in stunning colors comprising Feather Sand White, Feather Sand Black, Feather Sand Purple, Qingshendai, and Dawn Gold. The last two colorways, however, come with a leather finish, while others use glass.
The new inner foldable screen measures 7.85 inches with a 2496 × 2224 pixels resolution. It is an OLED panel that supports a 120Hz refresh rate and has a punch hole cut out at the top right corner of the display when unfolded. The larger display offers split-screen multitasking, both vertically and horizontally is further customizable.
In addition, there is Hover mode with a large screen that folds in half to give users a Hover movie mode and video call mode and acts as a viewfinder similar to what we have seen on some other foldable phones.
The exterior screen measures 6.4 inches diagonally and supports adaptive refresh rates ranging from 1Hz~120Hz. The external display has a glass cover screen of Kunlun, which promises drop resistance. The device also comes with an IPX8 water resistance rating for additional protection, something not often seen on a non-Samsung foldable.
On the design front, the Mate X3 is made of a lightweight and precise structure, which is curved on all sides and edges. Coming to the hinge, it claims to be thin and reliable, featuring a new double-rotation water drop hinge.
Underneath, the Mate X3 is powered by Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC and carries a decent 5,060mAh battery (for Collector’s edition) and a 4,800mAh battery (for Non-Collector’s edition) that support Huawei’s 66W wired charging, next to 50W wireless charging.
Due to the persistent trade ban, Huawei products cannot use Android and Google ecosystem of products; hence, the Mate X3 comes with Hongmeng OS 3.1 OS out of the box. The device supports expandable memory for up to 256GB, and the RAM settles for up to 12GB.
The Mate X3 equips a triple rear camera system for optics, including a 50MP primary camera, a 13MP ultra wide-angle camera, and a 12MP periscopic telephoto camera. There is an 8MP front camera for selfies too.
The Huawei Mate X3 also becomes the world’s first foldable phone featuring satellite connectivity next to two-way Beidou satellite message. The latter will be able to send preset text, location information, and the current status, even with the unavailability of a signal in remote places.
The foldable device also has a unique antenna system. As Huawei explains it, “when folded, the signal quality is greatly improved through intelligent dual-mode tuning technology. When unfolded, it adopts wrap-around antenna layout and smart antenna switching technology to sense signal changes in real-time, automatically select the optimal antenna, and have a stronger signal.”
The Mate X3 is currently available in the Chinese market. It retails at CNY 12,999 (~$1999) for the 256GB storage variant, the 512GB costs CNY 13,999 (~$2050), and there is an even bigger storage option at 1TB that costs a whopping CNY 15,999 (~$2340).
