The Mate X, Huawei's first foldable phone, was first unveiled in February. After delays like Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, the device is finally launched in China.
At a launch event held in Shenzhen Wednesday afternoon, Huawei announced the Mate X will be available from November 15 at 16,999 yuan ($2,400) for a model with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.
"Our strategy is based on carriers' 5G roll out in different regions," said a spokesman for Huawei. "So far, Huawei has made the Huawei Mate X available in the China market on Nov 15. A global launch plan is under review."
The Mate X is a 5G phone with Huawei’s Kirin 980 processor and Barong 5000 modem, and it has a dual-cell 4,500mAh battery that can be filled to 85 percent in half an hour with 55W fast charging.
While it’s flat, the screen is 8 inches, and when it’s closed it’s like having a phone with a 6.6-inch screen on the front and a 6.38-inch panel on the back.
Rather than opening like a book to reveal a larger screen on the inside, like the Galaxy Fold, the Mate X has a wraparound outside display that's accessible even when the phone is closed.
Besides the Mate X, Huawei also announced the Mate Xs which features the Kirin 990 processor will be launched in March next year.
This is inline with previous rumors. As cnTechPost mentioned on Tuesday, the device will be available in two variants.
The Kirin 980 version will be available at 9,999 yuan ($1414), while the Kirin 990 5G version will come at 13,999 yuan ($1979).
If this were true, then the Chinese version of the Huawei Mate X will be much cheaper than the European version.
At the device’s original launch event at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona back in February, Huawei announced the phone will cost 2,299 euros ($2565) in Europe but also said China’s price won’t be higher than that in Europe.
But it turned out the price for the Mate X in China is quite close to what they announced in Europe.
