Will HUAWEI admit Samsung was right all along?

Long before our current foldable clamshell smartphones, but soon after the curved and “edge” displays, came a real breakthrough in mobile technology: the first foldable smartphone.

The title is still being disputed between HUAWEI and Samsung. With the original Mate X being unveiled on February 25, 2019, the Galaxy Fold was announced just five days prior on February 20, 2019. Just by looking at these dates, it could be easily settled, but some still argue the title should go to the Mate X, as it was the first to pack a 7nm 5G multi-mode modem chipset, while the Fold was lacking 5G capabilities. Then it all became blurry with both companies delaying market availability several times in order to fix prototype issues. I digress.

HUAWEI Mate X Samsung Galaxy Fold

Different approaches

But 5G vs 4G/LTE wasn’t the only difference between these two innovative products. You see, the two companies approached the foldable design concept with a completely different mindset. While the HUAWEI approach was to utilize an out-folding design, the Samsung device was an in-folding product.

There were pros and cons for both approaches. However, both companies stood by their decisions, claiming their approach was the right one

While HUAWEI only employed a single display, it was always exposed to the elements, hence prone to wear and tear. Samsung, on the other hand, avoided this problem by protecting the display in folding it like a book, but then again it had to resort to a second, outer display, for the thing to be of any use while being folded.

Richard Yu, HUAWEI

“We had several solutions, but we canceled them. We had three projects simultaneously. We had something even better than that, killed by me. It was bad.

[…] I feel having two screens, a front screen, and a back screen makes the phone too heavy.”

— Richard YU, CEO of HUAWEI Consumer BG

Back and forth the two companies went by criticizing the competitor’s approach and praising their own. Both original products, as with many of the industry firsts and 1.0 versions, were not immune to subsequent problems, from cracked displays to hinges giving up, from overheating to display protectors failing.

HUAWEI Mate Xs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2

Successors

That didn’t stop the two giants from improving on their offerings, and, one year later in 2020, they both launched successors, claiming to fix many of the previous issues. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 received a larger outer display and updated internals, and the Mate Xs got a spec-refresh, a new hinge design, and a more durable display. 

However, both companies were standing by their philosophy, and the Mate Xs was still out-folding, and the Z Fold 2 was still in-folding, with an outer display.

Paradigm shift

Fast forward to February 22, 2021, yes, in the future, and HUAWEI is set to unveil the Mate X2. It will most likely get its specs up to date, with the adoption of the Kirin 9000 chipset, but, what’s most important is that the Mate X2 will likely adopt an in-folding design. At least that’s what early rumors and leaks seem to suggest.

There’s no way around it, with an in-folding design, you have to attach an outer display to your phone. That is, of course, if you want it to be more useful than a fancy paperweight. No doubt, the added display will also add more Dollars (well, Yuans) to an already exclusivistic price tag, but the most notable aspect here is the paradigm shift.

Did it take two generations of products for HUAWEI to figure out that Samsung was right all along? Or is it just a natural evolution of a product, as it improves over time, from the original 1.0 version onwards? 

HUAWEI Mate X2

Epilogue

At the end of the day, or, at least, the end of this article, it has little to do with who’s right and who’s wrong. Every day humanity is making breakthroughs at a faster and faster pace. From developing a vaccine or cure to finding out what it takes to bend, fold, or even roll a display, we’re constantly trying to improve, and, regardless of how you look at it, an improved product is a new product.

Sure, it can be based on an original product, which is also an evolution of its predecessor, but in the end, it’s still a new product. And, if someone found a way to improve on a product (technology, etc.), there’s nothing wrong with applying those findings to improving your own product. Regardless of how you look at it, it’s humanity as a whole, and evolution, that’s the sole and only beneficiary of technological evolution. Else, we’d still be driving our cars on wooden wheels, and roads that we’re complaining about today would feel a whole lot more bumpier.

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I’ve spent two weeks with the foldable HUAWEI Mate Xs and I never want to go back

Yes, I’ve spent two weeks with the foldable HUAWEI Mate Xs and I never want to go back… I’ll admit it, I was a little bit skeptical about the whole concept of foldable smartphones when it first started popping up a couple of years ago. Don’t get me wrong, I was excited about the advancements in technology. I couldn’t label it anything else than a gimmick though, especially considering the first prototypes and implementations.

Then Samsung announced its Galaxy Fold, which did nothing else but cement my earlier beliefs (and fears). I thought this was a niche product at an insane price point. For me, personally, having to open up (unfold) a device in order to properly interact with it was against the purpose. Using the phone folded just by interacting with the small outer display wasn’t something appealing to me.

HUAWEI Mate Xs

Then HUAWEI launched the Mate X, shifting the paradigm, having a completely different approach to that of Samsung’s, for which it was heavily criticized. This was the tipping point for me. This particular approach was much more appealing, and usable, in theory, than the in-folding design.

The first wave of reviews came out and I sadly didn’t get the chance to play with the Mate X. However, HUAWEI announced an upgraded version of the device (both in terms of specs as well as build), called Mate Xs. I’ve spent a whole week with it, and I never want to go back!

HUAWEI Mate Xs

First impressions

For the first time in a really long time I felt excited again when opening up the box in which it came. Sure, I’m moderately excited for every new smartphone I get the chance to play with, and, while they all look and feel more or less the same, this one’s different. Completely different!

I’ll admit I wasn’t afraid to fold it (it comes unfolded in the box), but I was really anxious about unfolding it for the first couple of times. I could describe the tactile feeling you get by comparing it to what you feel when you snap a chocolate bar in two. …only that you’re afraid of literally breaking an almost $3,000 device.

HUAWEI Mate Xs

Adding to that particular feeling generated by the redesigned hinge is the incredibly thin form factor of the phone. When folded, it’s just about as thick (or thin) as a regular non-foldable smartphone at 11mm, only to get half as thick (or thin) when unfolded, at 5.5mm. It feels very fragile, but luckily, it’s not as fragile as you’d think.

I went ahead and moved into the phone, setting it up as my daily driver, determined to work and play on it exclusively. The setup process is similar to that of any other HUAWEI smartphone, and, doing that recently with the P40 Pro, I was on autopilot.

The entire process took place in folded mode, as I was determined to focus on that initially, before getting distracted by the possibility of doubling the screen size. It was hard to refrain from unfolding at first, but I told myself it’s just a matter of a couple of hours until I can do it. I also had it connected to a charger so I start the journey with the phone set up and completely charged.

HUAWEI Mate Xs

HUAWEI Mate Xs Pros

“Wow” and “f… me!” were the most common reactions from the people I showed this phone off to, which was pretty much in line with what I felt initially when I finally got my hands on it. Obviously, the main advantage is the wow-factor of the approach, something so futuristic and sci-fi in today’s day and age, that it often times generates a mental block for those not that much into tech like us, the tech media, and our tech-aficionado readers.

But beyond that, and getting to the practical advantages, this form factor has the potential to kill both the smartphone and the tablet form factors. You’re basically expanding a full sized phone to an iPad mini-sized device, and that right there is what the Mate Xs has over its competitors.

The advantage is that you can fully utilize the phone in its folded state, as it gives you the real estate of a full 6.6-inch display, compared to the 4.6-inch cover display of its main competitor, the Galaxy Fold. That’s enough to consume content without the need to unfold the device, which, when you do, expands the canvas to 8 inches, versus the 7.3 inches on its competitor.

HUAWEI Mate Xs

Another advantage of this approach is that it eliminates bezels, notches, and punch holes, so your content is completely uninterrupted. HUAWEI crammed all the hardware including the battery and cameras, in the thick part to the side – which holds the buttons and fingerprint scanner – and, without the need for a selfie camera (your main cameras are acting as a selfie shooter) there’s no hardware interfering with the screen.

Speaking of cameras, the Mate Xs uses a Leica branded system consisting of a 40 MP, f/1.8, 27mm (wide), an 8 MP, f/2.4, 81mm (telephoto) with 3x optical zoom and 5x hybrid zoom, a 16 MP, f/2.2, 17mm (ultrawide) shooter, and a TOF 3D depth sensor.

The software allows you to enable the back display (when folded) so that your subject sees your framing of the picture in real life. The back display is also activated automatically when taking selfies with the main shooters, as you flip the phone to achieve it.

In fully unfolded mode you can take advantage of the large display in several ways. You can use the entire canvas to browse websites and, in general, consume content, or you can conveniently multitask by having up to three apps open at the same time. Two of them are side by side on the large display, split, giving you almost two full size experiences at four inches, with the option of adding a third app that floats on top of everything. That, right there, is multitasking taken to the next level.

HUAWEI Mate Xs multitasking

There are, of course, other pros, like the quality of the display, the battery life, extreme performance of the Kirin 990 chip, 5G capabilities, camera quality, but we’ll cover those in our upcoming full review. This editorial talks about my experience with the Mate Xs, and how it completely changed the way I look at and feel about foldable smartphones.

HUAWEI Mate Xs Cons

The main advantage of the Mate Xs I talked about in the segment above is also the main disadvantage of the phone, in a weird way. Having an out-folding design means that regardless of how you place your phone down, it will always be sitting on the exposed display. Needless to say, that makes it prone to scratches and, since glass can’t be bent, the display is very fragile being only protected by a thin layer of plastic and a screen protector (you should not remove!).

HUAWEI Mate Xs

The hinge has been redesigned from the original Mate X in order to become more sturdy and to do its best and keep dust/dirt from getting underneath the protective film, ultimately killing the display. That, however, and the entire concept of a foldable smartphone completely kills all IP ratings for dust and water. Keep it as far away from moisture (even droplets) as possible, and hope your pockets not only have no sharp objects inside, but contain hopefully no lint.

What’s not certain is what’s happening with the pre-installed screen protector once it starts peeling off by itself, or gets scratched. Our guess is that it may require HUAWEI’s intervention to remove and replace.

HUAWEI Mate Xs

Then there’s the topic of the price: it costs a whopping £2,299, or around $2,800 / €2,575. Surely, this phone isn’t for everyone, but there are now two filters in place for the potential customer: 1. you have the price to start off with and 2. you have the folding form factor. There will be some who would love it but won’t afford it, and there will be some who could afford it but don’t believe in the approach, limiting the audience to fans of this design who have deep pockets.

Conclusion

As skeptical as I was about foldables (and I still am, when it comes to other approaches), I quickly fell in love with the HUAWEI Mate Xs. Reviewing phones for more than a decade I found it refreshing to be as excited about a device as I was when we switched from resistive touch screens to capacitive. 

HUAWEI Mate Xs

This being my personal story, it might not resonate with everyone, as you might be a fan of the in-folding design, and that’s great! If your workflow requires no more than a small display to get things done before you unfold your phone, then you should definitely pursue that. It will also give you peace of mind from a durability standpoint.

For me, however, being able to multitask folded, and take that multitasking to a different level once unfolded is key. Yes, I’ve gotten into the habit on constantly placing it on a shammy at the office, and on soft surfaces when visiting friends (as much as you can visit people during current restrictions), and, while it was a real nuisance in the beginning, it quickly became a habit.

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Would you buy a foldable iPhone if it looked like this? How much would you pay?

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Samsung Galaxy Z Flip to come with special fibers inside the hinge for dust protection

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is all set to be launched alongside the Galaxy S20 series at the Unpacked 2020 event on February 11, 2020.

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Pocketnow Daily: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip Looks BETTER in Real Life?!(video)

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Foldable phones are awesome, but they’re not the future

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Foldable phones have long been hailed as the holy grail of innovation in smartphone technology. But do pompous exterior and powerful internals always mean practical?

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