Like Samsung, Huawei bet on foldable smartphones very early on. And despite its current situation due to American sanctions, and which may not be to improve, the Chinese giant unveiled a new foldable smartphone this week: the Mate X2.
Of course, this is a concentrate of innovation, which should allow Huawei to remember that it is one of the market leaders insmartphones. But what is obvious is above all the design, which is close to that of Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 .
As a reminder, when Samsung launched its first foldable smartphone in 2019, the device had a foldable screen, as well as an external screen. The Huawei Mate X (and the Mate XS ), on the other hand, only had the foldable screen and no external screen. But with the Mate X2, Huawei adopts a design closer to that of Samsung devices.
The inside screen of the Huawei Mate X2 (the foldable screen), OLED type, has a diagonal of 8 inches, a resolution of 2480 x 2200 pixels, a refresh rate of 90 Hz, and a sampling rate of the touch of 180 Hz. The outer screen, also of the OLED type, has a diagonal of 6.45 inches , a resolution of 2700 x 1160 pixelss, a refresh rate of 90 Hz, and a touch sampling rate of 240 Hz. The chassis is made of steel and high-strength carbon fiber.
A foldable smartphone with Kirin 9000 processor and 4 cameras on the back, but without Google applications
Otherwise, like the Mate 40 Pro, the high-end smartphone which was released in the second half of 2020, the Mate X2 uses the Kirin 9000 chip, which should provide very good performance. On the Mate X2, this chip is accompanied by an 8 GB RAM memory, and an internal storage of 256 GB, or 512 GB.
As with its other premium smartphones, Huawei has granted special attention to the quality of cameras. BlessedBuilding on the long-standing partnership between the Chinese manufacturer and Leica, the Mate X2 has a set of four cameras on its back: a 50-megapixel wide-angle sensor (f / 1.9, OIS), a 16-megapixel ultra-wide-angle (f / 2.2), a 12-megapixel telephoto lens (3x optical zoom, f2.4, OIS), and an 8-megapixel “SuperZoom” camera (10x optical zoom, f / 4.4). And on the front, there is a 16 megapixel camera.
Everything is powered by a 4,500 mAh battery. This is compatible with fast charging at 55W.
For the moment, the device has only been announced for China
The presentation of this new gem of Huawei was made in China and for now it will only be marketed in this country. A model with 256 GB of storage costs the equivalent of $ 2,289, while a model with 512 GB of storage costs the equivalent of $ 2,289.around 2,416 euros.
While the Huawei Mate X2 has many advantages, its price is far too high for it to seduce the crowds (the main problem with foldable smartphones). And even if Huawie launches this model in Europe, it will be delivered without Google's apps and services, which can be a disadvantage for some users.
One can also wonder how many units , for this smartphone, Huawei intends to produce. In fact, the Mate X2 uses the Kirin 9000 processor. However, following new sanctions announced by the US government in 2020, Huawei can no longer source Kirin processors from its supplier. As a result, the manufacturer will therefore have to be satisfied with the stocks made before the entry into force of these sanctions.
We expect the new foldable smartphones from Samsung
Anyway either, the Mate X2 is an interesting competitor for Samsung's foldable smartphones, which should release several modelsthis year. Currently, many rumors are already circulating about the Galaxy Z Fold 3 , which the manufacturer should launch in the second half of the year. According to some sources, this device should support the S Pen. And it's also possible that Samsung will equip this foldable smartphone with a front camera hidden under the screen.
Otherwise, it's very likely that this year Samsung will also launch a more affordable foldable smartphone. This affordable foldable smartphone has been rumored for quite a while. And a few months ago
"True to our heritage of staying one step ahead with mobile technology avant-garde,we will expand our portfolio of foldable products, so that this revolutionary category is more accessible to all, ”he said in a post.
It should also be noted that currently, rumors are circulating about possible Google and Xiaomi foldable smartphone launches in 2021. On the other hand, Samsung Display would finally be willing to sell its foldable screens to other brands of smartphones.
