Huawei has formalized its Huawei Mate X3, inspired by the Galaxy Z Fold 4. As always with the Chinese manufacturer, despite the ultra premium positioning of the phone, it will have to do with 4G and the absence of Google services.
Huawei presented its new flagships for the Chinese public. In addition to the P60 and P60 Pro, a new folding smartphone is appearing, the Huawei Mate X3.
In book format, or Fold, this is therefore the manufacturer’s third attempt in this area after a Mate X in 2019 and a Mate X2 in 2021.
Ultra light and ultra thin
Huawei has really refined the design of this third version, offering a phone whose thickness, 5.3 mm when unfolded, and weight (239 g) will turn heads. It is therefore lighter than an iPhone 14 Pro Max by a small gram and weighs barely more than a Galaxy S23 Ultra and its 234 grams. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 and its 263 grams seem a long way off.
Another major new feature to note is the arrival of IPX8 certification. As much as all the Chinese manufacturers who are launching into folding have beaten Samsung at the teardrop hinge game, none of them have so far managed to combine this with a waterproof phone. Huawei does so and therefore gives priority to Samsung, which is rumored to be switching to a teardrop hinge on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 while keeping the certification.
Top-of-the-range features… or almost
For the rest of the spec sheet, Huawei clearly hasn’t lost its way and this is undoubtedly a high-end, sleek and stylish phone. 7.85-inch (2496×2224) 120Hz LTPO internal display, 6.4-inch external display, FHD+ and LTPO 120Hz too, 426 ppi for both.
Also, and it was announced, the Huawei Mate X3 is the first folding phone to integrate satellite communication. It indeed supports the sending and the reception of message by this means.
Small surprising detail, but which Huawei is now used to: the phone incorporates a slightly dated SoC. It is a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 which, moreover, turns out to be deprived of 5G services. This is one of the consequences of the American embargo. Remember that for the same reason, if the folding comes out in France, it will certainly be deprived of Google services.
Here is the picture setup:
- 50 megapixel camera (F1.8 aperture);
- 13-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera (F2.2 aperture);
- 12-megapixel periscopic telephoto lens (F3.4 aperture, OIS).
Equipped with a 4800 mAh battery, it supports 66 W charging. It also integrates Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2. The fingerprint reader is located on the side.
Prices and availability
The Huawei Mate X3 costs 12,999 yuan, or 1,750 euros excluding tax. If it comes out in France, which is not guaranteed, it should be sold for a few hundred euros more.
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