Ultimately, Samsung was right. After trying to compete with the Galaxy Fold with a folding device with a futuristic design, Huawei has decided to adopt the format imagined by the Korean that he ultimately considers more practical. The Mate X2 nevertheless has the advantage of being thinner than its rival .
In 2019, Huawei and Samsung became the first two manufacturers to launch folding smartphones. Nevertheless, the two companies had a very different approach. The Chinese imagined an external screen capable of folding in on itself, the Korean imagined a screen that was only accessible.e when you choose to unfold your smartphone. At the time, we already pointed out the strangeness of the Huawei concept. The Mate X and Mate XS risked getting scratched in the pocket, which was not really reassuring given their plastic screens.
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Two years later , Huawei has just unveiled the Mate X2. This new folding smartphone has almost nothing to do with its predecessors. On the other hand, it looks a lot like the Galaxy Z Fold 2 from Samsung. In fact, Huawei seems to have been content with 'improve the product of Korean.
A giant screen of 8.01 inches
Throughout its conference, Huawei touted the giant OLED screen of its Mate X2. At a diagonal of 8.01 inches (2480 by 2200 pixels), the latter has an 8: 7.1 ratio, which brings it dangerously close to the square format. Unfolded, the Mate X2 is therefore much wider than the Samsung mobile, which according to Huawei makes it more pleasant to display two applications side by side.
However, the comparison with Samsung does not always work to Huawei's advantage. For example, the screen of the Mate X2 lacks a front camera (so forget about tablet-format video calls) and, even more annoyingly, is 100% plastic covered. In other words, unlike the Z Fold 2, Huawei's folding smartphone can't half-fold to stand on its own on a table. You have to choose between closed and unfolded. In revreed, the Chinese manufacturer claims to have invented a technology eliminating screen glare. The fold would therefore be invisible.
A real smartphone when closed
Like the Galaxy Z Fold 2, the Huawei Mate X2 has a secondary screen only accessible when you close it. However, the latter adopts a fairly classic format for a smartphone. With a diagonal of 6.45 inches and a definition of 2700 by 1160 pixels, it should not disorient the owners of a classic mobile. We lose all the advantage of the narrowness of Samsung mobiles, but we gain in display area.
Throughout the conference, Huawei has not stopped explain that his mobile offered larger screens and a much more modern design. Inspired by Motorola's rounded screen concept, the Chinese manufacturer has managed to eliminate any space between the two parts of the smartphonenot once the Mate X2 is closed. It is quite impressive. To achieve this feat, Huawei creates a small illusion. The left part of the screen is much thinner since it does not contain a battery, which prevents you from seeing that the two ends of the screen are not aligned. The right part is therefore heavier, which should force the user to hold it with his right hand.
A competition camera
EquippedKirin 9000 processor p from Huawei Mate 40 Pro , a 4500 mAh battery compatible with 55W ultra-fast charging and a dual Nano SIM port, the Huawei Mate X2 belongs to the category of high-end devices. Its speakers would also be of very high quality according to Huawei while, to unlock it, a capacitive fingerprint sensor is on its right side (as at Samsung). The brand also claims to use an ultra strong l to make the hinge of its device more resistant than a car door.
In our opinion, the real strength of the Mate X2 lies in its camera module. Unlike the Galaxy Z Fold 2 which is content with a classic score, Huawei's device easily competes with the best devices on the market. In addition to a 50 Mpix RYYB main sensor and a 16 Mpix ultra wide-angle, it has a telephotoEffective with zoom x3 (12 Mpix) and a periscopic zoom x10 (10 Mpix). Of course, all this comes with a nice protuberance at the level of the camera module. The price of quality.
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At least 2300 euros in China
Under a slightly modified EMUI (to improve multitasking or management of the tablet-format keyboard), the Huawei Mate X2 is unfortunately deprived of Google services. For this reason, the manufacturer decided to reserve it for China at first. The folding smartphone will be available there on February 25 for 17,999 Yuan (2,292 euros, 256 GB) or 18,999 Yuan (2,419 euros, 512 GB). In Europe, if there isshould happen, the price could easily exceed 2500 euros. By then, Samsung will surely have launched its new folding smartphones which, we hope, will be able to borrow its some good ideas from Huawei while retaining their advantages (folding glass screen capable of maintaining positions).
