Huawei Mate X2
David PhelanThe latest Huawei smartphone is another phone-that-folds-out-to-be-a-tablet. But unlike the previous model, the Mate XS, this phone has the big screen on the inside, not a wraparound externally.
I liked the previous design, and this new model is thicker, by the way, but overall, the new shape and look are highly successful.
Everything has been upgraded, down to the elegant, animated screensaver that plays when you open the fold. The internal instead of outside screen makes a lot of sense. It protects the potentially fragile display by keeping it inside.
Mind you, it doesn’t feel fragile, offering a firmer feel than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2. Like that phone, there is an inevitable dent in the display across the join but it’s invisible when the display is on.
Huawei Mate X2 unfolded.
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And what a display. Unfolded, it measures eight inches and it’s bright, attractive and detailed. A refresh rate of up to 90Hz helps, too. The image quality is also helped by the fact that when opened it folds completely flat.
Plus, there are no cameras on the internal display so the unfolded screen is truly edge-to-edge and free of interruption.
The new phone is thicker, noticeably so, than last year’s model. But it’s also taller and thinner. As a result, it’s easily manageable in the hand, much more than you’d expect.
It also means that the front display is highly effective, a better size than Samsung’s folding tablets have yet managed and easily good enough when you don't need the sumptuous full screen inside.
There is a significant camera bump on the back—the four cameras include a 10x zoom periscope lens. Take a look at this from the outside and it’s like the mirror stretches down into the depths of the phone. It’s unlike any other phone camera I’ve seen in terms of how far it seems to go on. Mind you, that doesn’t mean the camera panel is flat: like other smartphones it stands proud in a dominating rectangle.
The build quality is easily the best I’ve seen on a folding phone, with a real premium feel to it. It has a solid but smooth hinge mechanism. The two halves are of uneven thickness, giving a slight wedge shape. Huawei says this puts the center of gravity closer to where you hold it. That’s true, but only if you’re holding it in your right hand. More interestingly, it means that it can actually fold completely, without the gap at the hinge that Samsung’s folding phones have.
Huawei Mate X2 - look how deep that periscope camera goes.
David PhelanHuawei’s successful camera collaboration with Leica continues and the four lenses here include a 50MP wide camera, 12MP 3x equivalent optical zoom, 8MP 10x optical zoom and 16MP ultra-wide which is 0.75x the zoom of the wide.
In action, the cameras work very well together, even if you just click away in automatic. The artificial intelligence algorithms that Huawei has put in place in the last few years pay dividends here.
The Huawei Mate X2 uses the Kirin 9000 5G processor, the company’s own silicon. This processor is amazingly fast and a real performer, though thanks to the issues of using third-party manufacturers introduced by the Trump administration, these are chips from a diminishing stockpile. So, make the most of it.
Huawei Mate XS, left, and the new Huawei Mate X2.
David PhelanThose issues, of course, are also responsible for the lack of Google Mobile Services on the phone. Sure, there’s open-source Android, but you’ll look in vain for Gmail, Play Store and so on. There’s Petal Search, which can help you find many headline apps by downloading them from other app stores like Amazon’s or APK Mirror. This works well, though there are still gaps, of course.
While there’s no Google Maps, Huawei’s own alternative, Petal Maps, is excellent, crafted in conjunction with TomTom and there’s also the brilliant Here WeGo Maps.
The new Huawei Mate X2.
David PhelanSo, is this the best folding smartphone yet? Actually, in most ways, yes, it is. The build is sensational, performance is blazing fast, the screens, inside and out, look gorgeous and this is easily the sturdiest, most secure-feeling folding phone I’ve come across.
But there’s the lack of Google Mobile Services and, though the Huawei App Gallery improves every day, it has a way to go to catch up.
That apart, if Google Mobile Services don’t matter to you, and the lack of some highly popular apps is something you can manage without, this is an incredible phone with pretty much everything going for it.
The Link LonkMay 08, 2021 at 11:35PM
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Huawei Mate X2: Is This The Best Folding Smartphone Yet? - Forbes
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