Huawei announces £2000 Mate X2 foldable phone

Huawei has announced the Mate X2, its first all-new foldable device since 2019’s Mate X. The new phone has received a radical redesign compared to the original device, with a large screen that unfolds from the inside, rather than the outside.

Announced in a YouTube video – below – the Huawei Mate X2 comes with top specs but also a super-high price tag. According to TechRadar it will cost 17,999 CNY (roughly $2,785, £1,985, AU$3,530) for 256GB of storage and 18,999 CNY (around $2,940, £2,095, AU$3,730) for 512GB. 

The internal screen on the Mate X2 measures 8 inches with a resolution of 2480 x 2200, while the exterior screen is 6.45 inches with a 2700 x 1160 resolution. Both are OLED and have refresh rates of up to 90Hz. They’re also both slightly bigger than the 7.6-inch internal display and 6.2-inch external displays found on Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 2.

Internally, the phone is powered by the company’s flagship Kirin 9000 chip, the processor that debuted in its Mate 40 Pro last year. This is paired with 8GB of RAM and a battery with a rated capacity of 4,400mAh that can be fast-charged at up to 55W.

Comments Ru Bhikha, mobiles expert at Uswitch.com:

“The Huawei Mate X2 is the latest folding smartphone from the Chinese brand, joining the original X and the XS, and taking on bendy rivals from Samsung and Motorola.

“With its quad-camera including a 50MP wide lens, plus a dual-speaker stereo and the Kirin 9000 5G chipset, the Mate X2 is a serious handset in its own right, and not just a folding gimmick.

“Huawei unveiled what it calls the Multi-Dimensional Hinge, which eliminates the bumps and lumps common to folding screens, solving an issue that has plagued first-generation iterations.

“The Falcon Wing Design lets you use the device as a traditional smartphone, or open it up to reveal a tablet-like eight-inch screen. 

“With brands like Oppo investing in rollable screens, it’s crucial that foldable phones like this provide as seamless a display as possible.

“Huawei still faces an uphill struggle to win followers in the UK, and this phone’s almost £2,000 price tag will not help a device that lacks the Google apps on which users have come to rely.”