Huawei Delays Mate X Folding Phone Again

Thursday August 15, 2019 3:55 AM PDT by Tim Hardwick
Huawei has again delayed the release of its Mate X folding smartphone, which is now unlikely to come out before November.


Speaking to TechRadar at a press event in China, the company said that there was "no possibility" that the device will make its September launch date.

It's the second time Huawei has pushed back the release of the phone, which was originally supposed to arrive in June or July.

The report doesn't reveal the reason for the delay, but it could be that the company is taking extra care not to replicate Samsung's mistake of unveiling a folding phone that's not fit for purpose.

Samsung initially planned to launch the Galaxy Fold in the spring, but ended up delaying the launch after several reviewers experienced broken Galaxy Fold devices after just a few days.

The Galaxy Fold is now set to launch in September – before the Mate X – after being delayed in order for Samsung to make some design changes.

The Mate X uses what Huawei calls a "Falcon Wing" design with a stretchable hinge that allows the smartphone to transform from a 6.6-inch OLED smartphone to an 8-inch OLED tablet, making it bigger than the Galaxy Fold.

It also folds in the opposite direction of Samsung's phone, so the display is visible on both the front and back of the device when collapsed down to smartphone view. The "wing" at the side houses the camera and allows the Mate X display to be notch free.

Samsung is pricing its Galaxy Fold at $1,980, but the Mate X is even more expensive at $2,600.

There have been some suggestions that Apple is exploring folding screen technology, but right now there are no rumors indicating Apple plans to actually release a foldable smartphone in the near future.

Tag: Huawei
43 comments

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jsmith189
16 weeks ago
How about we actually take our time with new products like this and get it right, instead of rushing to announce it for the sake of seeming innovative?
Rating: 17 Votes
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farewelwilliams
16 weeks ago

How about we actually take our time with new products like this and get it right, instead of rushing to announce it for the sake of seeming innovative?

so basically what Apple is doing.
Rating: 14 Votes
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nortonandreev
16 weeks ago
Still don’t get the obsession with foldable phones.
Rating: 8 Votes
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maflynn
16 weeks ago

so basically what Apple is doing.

They didn't seem to do that for the butterfly keyboard :(

I think both Samsung and Hauwei were in a race to be the first, but then what happened to Samsung opened their eyes and its better to have a solid product then first.
Rating: 6 Votes
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genovelle
16 weeks ago

They didn't seem to do that for the butterfly keyboard :(

I think both Samsung and Hauwei were in a race to be the first, but then what happened to Samsung opened their eyes and its better to have a solid product then first.

So, does the butterfly keyboard break within 3 days of using it?
Rating: 6 Votes
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Winni
16 weeks ago

Still don’t get the obsession with foldable phones.


Well, these devices will eventually replace tablets: Larger screen real estate but pocket-sized mobility. Once this technology works, nobody will want a traditional tablet or phone anymore.
Rating: 6 Votes
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Ultramove69
16 weeks ago
Folding phones *yawn* - no really, this nonsense is just not gonna be reliable. I refuse to be a beta tester (1st gen owner) for such tech. Give me a good ole fashioned non folding iPhone any day of the week.
Rating: 2 Votes
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Darmok N Jalad
16 weeks ago
If you really want to be first, then be the first to get it right.
Rating: 2 Votes
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Kabeyun
16 weeks ago

I want a folding phone, just not a first generation with all of its possible issues:

- a plastic screen that scratches easily (Mate X: scratches because it’s the entire outside of the device, Galaxy Fold: scratches because it touches the other half of screen when closing up and also leaves a gap for dirt) (see this ('https://youtu.be/XdvJdXSxbSk') video @4:00 minute mark for a demonstration)
- a device that’s twice as thick as current phones
- reliability screen remains to be seen
- poor software implementation
- absurd pricing

Excited for the future nonetheless.

Too distant to get excited. You want nothing that you’ll have to have if you get a folding phone.

Well, these devices will eventually replace tablets: Larger screen real estate but pocket-sized mobility. Once this technology works, nobody will want a traditional tablet or phone anymore.

No. They won’t. If you want an actual tablet-sized device rather than an iPad mini, you’ll have to fold it twice to get it into your pocket. Glwt.

First, laptops were threatening desktops, and then everyone’s saying that tablets will replace laptops, and now I’m hearing that folding phones will replace tablets. So by the transitive power of silliness, folding phones will apparently replace desktop computers.

Everybody breathe slowly.
Rating: 2 Votes
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Kabeyun
16 weeks ago

The foldable phone has the potential to return to small form factors while maintaining the trend of huge screen sizes.

As I asserted, there will be no huge screen size that produces a reasonably pocketable phone when folded. There may be a smallish tabletoid screen in an awkward aspect ratio that produces a thickish phone when folded, and I expect it won’t really find a market even if it survives beta testing. No one who relies on a tablet wants a screen that’s an 8” square. A tech revolution might eventually produce a screen that can be folded twice or unrolled, but until then you can look forward to overpriced gimmicks that do neither tablet nor phone particularly well.
Rating: 1 Votes
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