Huawei has unveiled the Mate X2, its first all-new foldable device with an inward display just like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2. The new phone has a large 8-inch screen that unfolds from the inside of the device rather than around the outside. The Huawei Mate X2 has a second screen on its outside.
The Huawei Mate X2 will launch without support for Google’s apps or services, which is likely to severely limit its appeal outside of China. According to Huawei’s site, the phone will run on EMUI 11.0 based on the old Android 10. However, during its livestream the company said it plans for the Mate X2 to be among the first phones to be updated to its own operating system, HarmonyOS, starting in April.
The internal screen on the Mate X2 measures 8-inches with a resolution of 2480 x 2200, while the exterior screen is 6.45-inches big with a 2700 x 1160 resolution. Both are OLED, and have refresh rates of up to 90Hz. They’re also both slightly bigger than the 7.6-inch internal display, and 6.2-inch external displays found on Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 2. Internally, the phone is powered by the company’s flagship Kirin 9000 chip, the processor that debuted in its Mate 40 Pro last year. This is paired with 8GB of RAM, and a battery with a rated capacity of 4,400mAh that can be fast-charged at up to 55W.
There are four cameras on the rear of the phone. A 50-megapixel wide-angle, a 16-megapixel ultra-wide, a 12-megapixel telephoto with a 3x optical zoom, and an 8-megapixel “SuperZoom” camera with a 10x optical zoom. The selfie camera on the outside of the phone has a 16-megapixel resolution, and there doesn’t appear to be a selfie camera in, or around, the foldable inner screen.
The Mate X2 is technically the third phone in Huawei’s foldable lineup. Last year it released the Mate XS, an updated version of the original Mate X which featured a more durable display and faster Kirin 990 processor.
Huawei says the Mate X2 will be available in China with 256GB of internal storage for $2,785, or for around $2,940 with 512GB of storage. Available colors include blue, pink, black, and white. It’s unclear when the phone could be released outside the country.
