Huawei Mate XT: Trying out the double foldable
With the Mate XT, Huawei has developed a foldable with three housing parts and two hinges. We got our hands on it.
Huawei Mate XT
(Image: heise online/sht)
Foldables have been around for around six years, but this one is different. The Huawei Mate XT doesn't just have one hinge that connects two halves of the casing, but two that hold three parts together. When unfolded, it reveals a 10.2-inch display. We had the opportunity to test it briefly.
The Mate XT has been available in China since last weekend. The foldable combines the smartphone and tablet genres even more consistently than previous folds. The aspect ratio of the flexible display panel is roughly 4:3 when open, making it more suitable for movies than the almost square screens of devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6.
The general design and the construction of the hinges are very reminiscent of the particularly flat Honor Magic V3, just with one more element. Although Huawei's Mate XT can only be opened and closed with one hand with great effort, its hinges make a robust impression. They ensure that the flat flounder does not feel fragile, but rather like a particularly thin, lightweight tablet. The protruding camera hump is helpful if you want to hold the device with one hand. Fingers quickly find a grip there.
Huawei Mate XT Hands-on (15 Bilder)
Huawei Mate XT Hands-on
heise online/sht
)Smartphones could hardly get any thinner, as the USB-C port is already the thickest part, and you can't make it any thinner. When fully closed, the Mate XT is around two millimeters thicker than Google's current foldable, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. However, at around 300 grams, the Mate is a real heavyweight for a smartphone – or as light as a feather for a tablet, depending on the viewing angle.
Large display, old processor
Unlike current foldables, the Mate XT does not have two displays, but only one, which can be used one third, two thirds or completely – depending on how far you open the smartphone. The resolution is 2232 × 3184 pixels in total, only 1008 × 2232 pixels are used when fully closed, and 2048 × 2232 pixels when fully opened. The screen appeared pleasantly bright and sharp when we first tried it out, and the colors were more bright than subtle.
The Kirin 9010 that powers the Huawei Mate XT is no longer quite up to date. The eight-core processor with a maximum of 2.3 GHz is manufactured with a 7 nanometer structure width and is fast enough for everyday smartphone use. However, you should not expect outstanding performance, for example in complex games such as "Genshin Impact". The XT flits through the Android menus and home screens quickly enough and without noticeable delays.
Huawei's SoC does not support 5G networks, and LTE is the end of the line. Together with the lack of Google services, this makes the Mate XT difficult to sell in Germany despite its exciting form factor, especially considering the price. In China, the Mate XT in the smallest storage version with 256 GB costs the equivalent of a good 2,500 euros; with the local taxes and duties for import, it is likely to be closer to 3,000 euros. Huawei currently has no plans to launch the Mate XT on the European market. First, demand in China must be met. Over six million pre-orders have already been received there, said a company spokesperson.
(sht)
