Huawei Mate X vs. Samsung Galaxy Fold: what’s the difference?

Days after Samsung unveiled the world’s first flexible mobile, Huawei, the Chinese smartphone giant, has revealed its new foldable Mate X handset.

Unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) tech event in Barcelona last night, the Huawei Mate X is equipped with a flexible display that allows users to fold the device and slide it into their pocket.

While the phone received rapturous applause at the Barcelona conference (which runs until Thursday), the Mate X isn’t the first foldable smartphone to hit the market.

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That title goes to the Samsung Galaxy Fold, which was announced at the company’s Galaxy Unpacked conference last Wednesday.

With only a few months to go until the foldable devices go on sale, here’s how the two major rivals compare:

Displays

Both Samsung and Huawei have opted for a single-hinge design, meaning the devices can be folded in half.

The Mate X consists of a single foldable panel split into three different displays: a 6.38in screen at the back, a 6.6in version at the front and – when unfurled – an 8in tablet-style display with a resolution of 2,480x2,200 pixels, says T3.

This makes Huawei’s offering slightly larger than Samsung’s Galaxy Fold. Unlike the Mate X’s trio of displays, the Korean phone’s flexible panel only splits into two screens: a 4.6in display when folded and 7.3in with a resolution of 2,152×1,536 pixels when unfurled, says Digital Trends.

Cameras

While Samsung’s phone doesn’t quite match the Huawei on size alone, the Galaxy Fold has double the amount of cameras as its Chinese rival.

The Galaxy Fold is home to six cameras, says Trusted Reviews. These include a 16-megapixel ultra-wide lens, a 12-megapixel wide-angle camera and a 12-megapixel zoom sensor at the rear. At the front of the device sits a single 10-megapixel camera.

The two inner cameras, which can be accessed when the phone has been unfolded, consist of ten and eight-megapixel lenses, the tech news site says.

Meanwhile the Mate X is equipped with three cameras located at the rear of the device. Huawei, however, has yet to announce the specs of its triple-lens system.

Although the Mate X only has a camera system at the rear, Engadget claims the triple-lens layout should be more than enough for most users.

This is because there are screens on both the front and rear of the device when it’s been folded in half, the site says. Therefore users can simply turn the phone around and use the rear-facing screen to take a photograph of themselves.

Specs

Huawei has equipped its foldable phone with its latest Kirin 980 processor, which is paired to a Balong 5000 5G chipset, says T3. This allows the Mate X to connect to a 5G network, a new mobile connection that promises broadband-rivalling download speeds while you’re out and about.

There are currently no 5G networks active in the UK, but most providers, such as Vodafone and EE, have confirmed they will begin rolling out the faster connection across the country by the end of the year.

Along with its 5G capabilities, the Mate X comes with a 4,500mAh battery, 8GB of ram and 512GB’s worth of storage.

The Galaxy Fold matches the Mate X’s storage capacity but boasts 4GB more ram than its rival, says Digital Trends. The Samsung also has a 4,380mAh pack, which is only slightly smaller than the Mate X’s battery.

Much like the Huawei, Samsung’s flexible smartphone will be compatible with a 5G network connection, the tech site adds.

Prices and release

Samsung’s Galaxy Fold will be the first of the two handsets to go on sale. UK orders are due to open on 3 May.

Prices for the Fold start at $1,980 (£1,515). This makes it about £700 more expensive than the non-folding Galaxy S10 flagship phone that Samsung announced last week.

The Mate X, meanwhile, won’t arrive until June and will come with a price tag of €2,299 (£1,996).