This is the Huawei Mate X2
the third iteration of its folding phone and easily its best yet.
This time they've changed the format and the folding screen is now protected inside the phone
when it's closed, which makes a lot of sense.
It's been a pleasure over the last few years to be able to try out so many of these folding phones
and see this new category of devices emerge.
All the manufacturers have had such different approaches.
Huawei's was always unusual because it wrapped the folding display around the outside of the device
which looked super cool
but did leave that delicate display vulnerable on the outside of the phone.
This time around
they're taking a leaf out of Samsung's book
and putting the folding display on the inside of the phone where it's protected
and there is a secondary display on the outside of the device.
Actually, I think they've taken a few leaves out of Samsung's book
this time round because this is very similar to the Galaxy Z Fold 2.
From the fingerprint reader on the side here
to the speaker on the bottom to the camera bump and the chunky hinge.
You can judge for yourself.
I thought folding phones might be the end of every phone looking largely the same, but here we are.
I remember saying when the Galaxy Fold 2 came out that
it felt much sturdier than the original and that is the same here.
The Mate X2
is a much better design than the original.
When it's open the screen snaps into place.
When it closes its snaps shut and it doesn't leave a gap
which I think is a big improvement over Samsung's design.
This is the first one of these
I'd feel comfortable enough to throw in my gym bag
like I would with my regular phone.
There's something else about this
that I think is a fantastic bit of engineering.
When I first started using it
it felt really comfortable in my hand and I couldn't quite put my finger on why.
I've always been very scared of dropping these folding phones
because they are typically very expensive and fragile, but with this one
I never felt like I was going to drop it. It just sat very comfortably in my hand.
And here's why: the phone is wedge shaped
which moves the centre of gravity closer into your right hand.
So when you're holding it here...
there's less weight over here.
It weighs about 300g, which is more than a regular phone, but because of this
it doesn't feel like it.
The other thing I really like is the outside display because when this device is closed
it's a full size
regular smartphone with no compromise.
You get pretty much the same experience as you would with a regular Pro Huawei smartphone
including the great camera array as you'd expect from a flagship device.
If folding phones that turn into tablets are really going to take off
then the folding part cannot come at the expense of any other top feature
that you would expect on a Pro smartphone and this
I think
is the closest we've got. In terms of apps
things haven't really changed over the last few months.
Huawei is still on that US trade blacklist which means there are no Google
services on this device and I think that lets it down
at least for a UK audience.
I would love to see a manufacturer create a full and uncompromised Android experience
without any Google services
but it hasn't happened yet.
You have to recreate an app store
you have to build mapping services
you have to get individual app developers to make their software compatible with your ecosystem.
It's a lot.
I thought Huawei would be the one to do it, but it hasn't really happened yet in full.
This is still a bit of a compromised experience.
You will find some popular apps like TikTok in the App Gallery
and the company says you can use Petal Search to find others
It installs them from a third-party repository, which I think is a bit of a workaround
and not a particularly great user experience. Some of the apps even flash up and warn you
they may contain security threats.
You can find popular apps like Instagram and Spotify
that do work and it's really nice to switch between the phone display and tablet mode
to see the content
fill the screen.
I even managed to find Google Maps on there and it worked perfectly.
Although other apps that require Google Maps services like
Uber Eats will install but not run.
Ultimately, if this is released in the UK or US that will be a huge hurdle
and it's a shame because I think
Huawei has just designed the finest folding phone so far.