Not too long ago, the Huawei Mate X was spotted on TENAA and now a Chinese journalist has managed to upload some real-life photographs of the revamped foldable phone. Originally slated for a June release, Huawei’s first foldable device was delayed until September, as the company realized that it might need some time to make the tablet phone hybrid more durable so that it doesn’t end up like the Samsung Galaxy Fold.
Speaking of the Galaxy Fold, a September release has been confirmed now so it’s quite interesting that the CEO of Huawei’s Consumer Business Group, Richard Yu, was seen using the revised Mate X a day after Samsung announced the relaunch and he also happily obliged to get photographs of the phone taken.
The freshly uploaded images show that the design of the Mate X has indeed been tweaked a bit. For starters, a fourth Time of Flight sensor can be seen now, and it wasn’t really visible when the phone was first revealed. The company’s website and the TENAA listing also mention this unit. It could be that the ToF camera was previously hidden beneath the black filter and there is no way of telling if this is a new addition.
Moving on, the button, which is supposed to unfold the device, now seems bigger and it also has a red accent in the middle. Apart from that, the area around the camera sensors and the hinge of the phone now appears to have carbon fiber, but it can very well be a faux material. Either way, it does seem to uplift the design of the phone. It could also be that this material provides more protection to the hinge and camera part. Other than that, it also seems that the display of the phone now has a larger protector.
Beyond that, it is not known what has changed. Per the TENAA certification, the redesigned Mate X will be a tad bit lighter and it will pack in a marginally smaller battery. The biggest concern is the fact that the display of the phone might have some creases. The Mate X has an out folding design, unlike the Galaxy Fold, which means that its display will remain exposed at all times. However, it remains to be seen which design will fare better as some believe that Mate X’s design will put less stress on the folding mechanism of the display.
When the Mate X was first delayed, Huawei had said that it will improve the quality of the display and carry out additional tests with mobile carriers and app developers before releasing it. We can expect the company to announce a new launch date any day now.
The Mate X will be nearly $500 more expensive than the Galaxy Fold, which, at $1,980 will not be affordable by any means either. Samsung has already announced that its debut foldable phone will first be launched in select key markets and Huawei is likely to follow suit. And then, if the response is positive, the devices will likely be introduced in more markets. It goes without saying that the Mate X will not be available in the U.S.
