Huawei gets in on the 5G foldy phone game

Just days after Samsung’s big reveal Huawei has launched a foldy phone of its own on the eve of Mobile World Congress 2019.

In contrast to the Samsung Fold the foldy screen of the Huawei Mate X is on the outside of the folded device. It also seems designed to be more compact when folded and is slightly biggers – 8 inches, when unfolded. Lastly it seem to come with 5G from the start thanks to Huawei being in control of its destiny in that departments.

Regrettably Huawei feels the need to go down the hyperbolic launch event path forged by the late Apple boss Steve Jobs. So the theme for the big Barcelona event was ‘Meet the unprecedented’, despite the launch having been precedented three days ago. The obligatory superlative was satisfied with the somewhat qualified claim this it is ‘the world’s fastest foldable 5G phone.’ This presumably means Huawei thinks its 5G modem is faster than the Qualcomm X50, which is an interesting claim.

“With the advent of the all-scenario era, consumers are increasingly looking forward to revolutionary experiences,” said Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei’s consumer business group, who you can hear more from in the video below. “To support the hyperconnected 5G period, Huawei Consumer BG remains committed to the all-scenario smart ecosystem strategy. We will spare no effort to drive pervasive connectivity to individuals, office and homes, and create a world-leading 5G all-scenario smart living experience that is unlike anything that has come before.”

That’s about it for now. It looks like a pretty cool device, but it wants to be considering it will set you back $2,600. This first set of foldy phone launches seems to be as much about bragging rights, technological chest-beating and headline chasing as anything, but that doesn’t mean they’re not interesting. Prices will have to come down, of course, but maybe no by that much if they can demonstrate genuine, useful added value from the first new smartphone form factor in over a decade.