The Huawei Mate X7 steps outside China with jaw-dropping cameras and amazing displays

Display and hinge

In terms of display sizes, the Huawei Mate X7 isn't radically different from the rest of the gang:

• Inner display: 8 inches (with a resolution of 2416 x 2210 pixels)
• Outer display: 6.49 inches (with a resolution of 2444 x 1080 pixels)

Huawei puts to work its X-True Display technology on both panels for extra clarity and brightness.

Both panels offer 1-120Hz of adaptive refresh rate, which is a given these days. Interestingly enough, the inner screen comes with a higher resolution than that of the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which offers "only" 2184 x 1968 pixels.

Huawei claims the outer display achieves 3,000 nits of brightness (and 2,500 for the inner one), but such numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, as companies often measure a tiny portion of the screen real quick. Nevertheless, the screens should be usable even in direct sunlight.

Also, both the inner and outer screens use 1440Hz high-frequency PWM dimming, which helps reduce eye strain in low-light conditions and protects user vision.

In terms of screen toughness, Huawei teases terms like "Non-Newtonian Fluid Protection Layer", "Carbon Fiber Support Layer" and what not; but the key point is this: impact resistance has been increased by 20%, and bending resistance has been increased by 100% compared with the Mate X6.

This level of engineering is genuinely fascinating because it directly counters the core anxiety surrounding foldables. Huawei is making a huge statement about durability. If these structural innovations deliver the claimed 100% increase in bending resistance, they could finally convince skeptical users that a folding phone can be as robust and worry-free as a standard flagship.

Cameras that promise everything

The new Huawei Mate X7 come with a total of five dedicated cameras:

• 50 MP main: f/1.49-f/4 10-step variable aperture, OIS, 1/1.28-inch RYYB sensor
• 40 MP ultra-wide: f/2.2 aperture, RYYB sensor
• 50 MP telephoto: 3.5x optical zoom, f/2.2 aperture, OIS, RYYB sensor
• 8 MP selfie (on the outer screen)
• 8 MP selfie (on the inner screen)

Huawei says its second-generation True-to-Color Camera delivers "43% improved color accuracy", "96% increase in light intake" and "43% improvement in color restoration" over the Mate X6.

All the cameras on the back take advantage of RYYB sensors, which replaces the standard green filters with yellow ones to capture more light for better low-light results. The phone uses pixel-level auto white balance to handle tricky lighting situations. It should produce more accurate colors in mixed lighting, low-light scenes, or high-contrast settings like sunsets, resulting in better overall photos.

The main camera has a 1/1.28-inch RYYB sensor and adjustable aperture capture more light, producing clear, detailed images in both bright and low-light conditions. I'm hyped about this foldable's f/1.49-f/4 variable aperture – it's large enough to let lots of light in, while it allows it to be "stopped down" at f/4 when needed.

Huawei says the Mate X7 is equipped with an industry-first 4+1 group of diagonally arranged lenses in the periscope telephoto. The dedicated zoom snapper also packs a new anti-shake focusing motor for between hand-held photos. By Huawei's own tests, the telephoto's f/2.2 aperture boosts light intake by 127% compared to the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

The 3.5x telephoto doubles as a macro shooter, too.

Overall, Huawei promises realistic, rich colors thanks to the LOFIC sensor. LOFIC stands for lateral overflow integration capacitors, a sensor design that gives each pixel a backup to handle extra light. When a pixel is overloaded, the excess is absorbed by a tiny capacitor, letting the camera capture both bright and dark areas simultaneously. This results in a much wider dynamic range, preserving details in shadows and highlights even in challenging lighting conditions.

A battery that charges fast

The Huawei Mate X7 comes with a pretty respectable battery capacity of 5,600 mAh – way above the 4,400 mAh of the Galaxy Z Fold 7, for example.

The Mate X7 offers 66W wired charging speeds and 50W wireless charging speeds – again, that's a clear win over what Samsung foldables offer.

We're now entering the 10,000 mAh battery cells territory, but it's only non-foldables that offer such capacities at the moment. Maybe, in a couple of years, we'll be able to enjoy 10,000 mAh foldables, but that's not the 2025-2026 reality.

Design: a sleek champion!

I could just say that the Mate X7 is a glorious gadget on the outside, and that should be enough.

The new foldable weighs around 235 grams. It's 9.5mm thick when folded – practically, as thick as a standard non-foldable flagship – and super-thin at 4.5mm when unfolded (barely thicker than the 4.2mm chassis of the Galaxy Z Fold 7). In terms of overall dimensions, here's how the Huawei Mate X7 stacks against other foldables:

The back panel on the Mate X7 is crafted using nanofiber technology, which means microscopic threads are interwoven – 900 lengthwise and 1,700 crosswise – to create the surface on the rear.

There are three colors to choose from:

• Brocade White
• Nebula Red
• Black

The phone offers IP58 and IP59 rate of dust and water resistance. Huawei says that even when subjected to powerful water jets, the device is safe.

Performance

The Chinese-exclusive model of the Huawei Mate X7 utilizes the Kirin 9030 Pro chipset – probably that's the same silicon found in the global variant, too. Thanks to the heavy US-imposed sanctions on the company, Huawei is barred from using the latest and greatest Snapdragon chipsets.

The Mate X7, however, should be up to the task when it comes to everyday usage. There's a large heat dissipation system on board to keep the temperature down. As you know, excessive heat is the electronics' foe and thermal management is key.

Price and availability

Huawei is big on the foldable front. In fact, the company claims the first spot in China's foldable market for the first half of 2025 with over 10 million foldables sold.

Sadly, Huawei doesn't release all of its phones world-wide, like it once used to do (up until 2019, to be precise).

Such is the case with the Mate X7. It's going to be sold only in a handful of countries across the world, like Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Russia, Turkey, Mexico and several other countries. But US and EU audiences are left out.

In terms of price, details are not yet available. The China-exclusive Mate X7 variant is currently sold at around $2,100 (when directly converted).