Oh, what a difference a year makes. In our Mate Xs review, we found Huawei's out-folding design very intriguing, as it offered you a big screen canvas to work on both in folded and unfolded state.
Fast forward to today's Huawei Mate X2 unveiling, and the company has made an in-folder in the vein of Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold and Flip, or the new Motorola Razr series. Well, that's about it, as the foldable phones on the market can be counted on one hand.
On the other hand, we now have the Mate X2 to add to that promising roster, albeit with a launch scheduled only for Huawei's home turf for now - you know, it being geopolitically cut from Google services and all. In any case, here's what's new with the Mate X2.
Huawei Mate X2 foldable display size, specs, and camera
Needless to say, the software limitations in the West don't mean that Huawei can't produce an incredible piece of hardware. We were curious about the in-folding approach that the company hasn't tried so far, and the Mate X2 delivers it with a display that is not made by Samsung for a change, but BOE.
The Mate Xs 'out-folder' had a Falcon Wing design that offered 6.4" rear/6.6" front displays when the phone was "closed," and a large 8" one one opened, exactly what foldable promised to do - a big-screen phone for everyday tasks, and a small tablet when you need it.
The Mate X2 keeps the large screen promise intact, as it sports an 8-incher when opened yet when closed it has a much bigger external display than the Z Fold 2 - a whopping 6.45" panel with 90Hz refresh rate. Now that's more useful. It is still a big and heavy phone, of course, which seems to be inevitable for foldables at this point in their development, so they are not everyone's cup of tea just yet, and not just because of the price.
Huawei Mate X2 features
Coming with Huawei's newest Kirin 9000 5G chipset, the Mate X2 foldable phone is not lacking power for complex tasks like gaming or multirframe photography, or memory with 8GB RAM and 256GB/512GB storage options. The camera, too, seems directly lifted from the excellent one on the P40 Pro, what with the huge 50MP sensor, 16MP ultrawide, and two zoom cams - one 12MP 3x telephoto for closer objects or portraits, and one 8MP with the whopping 10x periscope zoom.
The big 4500mAh battery has been carried over from the Xs, as well as the 55W charging. The charger in the box, however, is a 66W one, one of the fastest in the industry. Other notable Mate X2 features include a high 90Hz refresh rate for both displays, magnetically-controlled nano optical layer to minimise reflection, split screen software features for multitasking, and Director's View video streaming on one screen.
Huawei Mate X2 price and release date
$2785
February 25, 2021
Huawei will be releasing the Mate X2 this week, on February 25, for now in the Chinese market, and at a price that is not that much lower compared to its predecessor at launch. The $2785 equivalent in local currency gets you the 256GB Mate X2, and the top 512GB version will set you back $2940.
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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.
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