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Huawei today launched a new foldable smartphone, the successor to the Mate Xs, at a virtual event in China where Huawei CEO of consumer business Richard Yu personally took the stage to make the announcement.

Huawei Mate X2 price and availability

In China, the Mate X2 will be available from February 25 in black, blue, pink, and white colors. And it will be priced same as other foldables on the market. The 256GB storage model is selling for ¥17,999 (around $2,785 or P135,708), while the top-end 512GB version is priced at ¥18,999 ($2,939 or P143,248). Huawei has yet to announce plans for a global release, so we’re not sure if it will debut in the Philippines or in any country outside of its native market.

#HUAWEIMateX2 is available in White, Black, Crystal Blue and Crystal Pink.

Which colour has caught your eye?#ImagineWhatUnfolds pic.twitter.com/qndGdSGYH2

— Huawei Mobile (@HuaweiMobile) February 22, 2021

And your favorite color variant is…?

Huawei Mate X2 features

The Huawei Mate X2 is the company’s latest foldable phone and its first original design since the original Mate X that debuted in 2019. It still comes with a massive screen that folds at the center, like previous iterations. The big difference this time around is that the Mate X2’s foldable display, which measures 8 inches with a resolution of 2,480 x 2,200, bends from the inside as opposed to folding outward.

Notably, it’s the same approach the Samsung Galaxy Fold series adopts. And similar to the Fold, Huawei’s new Mate also has a secondary outer screen for phone mode. There is no camera on the inner display, and the bezels look pretty small. Huawei says the screen will be complemented by a suite of smart features for better multitasking, such as Smart Multi-Window, Floating Window, App Multiplier, and App Bubble, to name a few.

The Mate X2’s screens are OLED and go up to 90Hz, which is impressive

Meanwhile, the exterior screen is 6.45 inches and has a 2,700 x 1,160 resolution. Both panels are OLED and go up to 90Hz, which is impressive.

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 2 only has one 120Hz display (the cover screen is a standard 60Hz affair), to put the Mate X2’s specs into perspective. The Galaxy Z Fold 2’s main and secondary OLEDs are also slightly smaller, coming in at 7.6 and 6.2 inches, respectively.

#HUAWEIMateX2 has arrived.

It's time to #ImagineWhatUnfolds.

Take a look: https://t.co/vx0S6r5TZJ pic.twitter.com/D7mEAkkbIy

— Huawei Mobile (@HuaweiMobile) February 22, 2021

Huawei Mate X2 official product video

On the camera front, the Huawei Mate X2 sports a quad rear setup headlined by the same 50-megapixel Ultra Vision Camera with f/1.9 aperture lens and optical image stabilization found on the back of the Mate 40 Pro. The camera is joined by a 16-megapixel, f/2.2 ultra-wide camera and dual telephoto cameras for up to 10x optical zoom and 100x digital zoom — which no other foldable on the market currently has.

The outer display packs a 16-megapixel selfie shooter, not as impressive as the primary camera on the back. It is equipped with a wide-angle lens, though, and has an HDR photo mode.

The Huawei Mate X2’s dual telephoto cameras have up to 10x optical zoom and 100x digital zoom, which no other foldable on the market currently has. It also supports 55-watt fast charging — the fastest solution yet available on foldable smartphones

Internally, the Huawei Mate X2 includes the same HiSilicon Kirin 9000 5G chipset the Mate 40 series introduced late last year, coupled with 8GB RAM and 256GB or 512GB of internal storage. The battery is rated at 4,500mAh and supports 55-watt fast charging — the fastest solution yet available on foldable smartphones.

The Mate X2 runs EMUI 11 based on Android 10 out of the box, with Huawei Mobile Services and no Google apps.

Video: Huawei Mate X2 launch, in case you missed the livestream. Presentation starts at the 1:27 mark

Huawei Mate X2 specs

• 8-inch foldable OLED, 2,480 x 2,200 resolution, 90Hz refresh rate, 180Hz touch-sampling rate
• 6.45-inch external OLED, 2,700 x 1,160 resolution, 90Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch-sampling rate
• 5nm octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 9000 5G with 5G
• 8GB RAM
• 256GB/512GB
• Quad 50-megapixel, f/1.9, OIS (main), 16-megapixel, f2.2 (ultra-wide), 12-megapixel, f/2.4, OIS (telephoto, 3x optical zoom),
• 8-megapixel, f/4.4, OIS (super zoom, 10x optical zoom) rear cameras
• 16-megapixel, f/2.2 front camera (external screen)
• Fingerprint reader (side-mounted)
• 4,500mAh battery with 55-watt fast charging
• EMUI 11 based on Android 10
• Colors: black, blue, pink, white

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