A new foldable smartphone from Chinese giant Huawei has arrived in Europe and the Mate X3 is finally making its international debut.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Huawei Mate X3.
Where can the Huawei Mate X3 be purchased?
The Mate X3 launched in China on March 23, with the international launch following an event in Munich on May 9 alongside the P60 Pro.
The X3 is now on sale in the UK and Europe and can be ordered direct from Huawei.
As with all Huawei devices, we don’t expect it to become available in the US.
How much does the Mate X3 cost?
You won’t be surprised to hear that the Mate X3 is expensive, costing you £1,999 / €2,199, but if you’re in the UK and pre-order 5 June at least the company throws in a free Huawei Watch GT 3.
The price is slightly higher than the Mate Xs 2, another foldable but with a fold-out display, which cost £1,799 / €1,999 when it launched last year.
It’s also higher than most of its direct competitors, even in China:
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 – $1,799 / £1,649
- Honor Magic Vs – €1,599
- Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 – ¥8,999 (approximately $1,335 / £1,090)
- Oppo Find N2 – ¥7,999 (about $1,150 / £930)
- Vivo X Fold 2 – ¥8,999 (around $1,335/£1,090)
What about Huawei Mate X3 specs and design?
The design itself is a fairly classic folding book style, but thinner and lighter than most. Unfolded it’s just 5.3mm thick and weighs just 239g – both far ahead of Samsung. It also has the same IPX8 water resistance rating as the Z Fold 4, so it’s durable too.
In China it’s available in silver, gold, black, green and purple – although internationally you only have a choice between a black glass model or a green version covered in vegan leather.
Huawei
Both screens are OLED panels with a 120Hz refresh rate, with a 6.4-inch screen on the outside and a 7.85-inch foldable panel on the inside. This uses an almost square aspect ratio of 8:7.1, making this a phone built for productivity first and foremost.
The phone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, but due to Huawei’s ongoing dispute with the US government, the phone will only have 4G capabilities like all of its other new devices.
In China, that’s complemented by the inclusion of the two-way satellite communications that the company debuted in the Mate 50 Pro – since seen in a similar form in the iPhone 14 series and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Satellite – although unfortunately there’s no sign of that support internationally just yet.
Huawei
Power comes from a hefty 4800mAh battery, with 66W wired charging and 50W wireless charging when you need to charge it.
Of course, the cameras are a highlight. There’s a triple camera on the rear, with a 50Mp, f/1.8 main camera flanked by a 13Mp ultrawide and 16Mp 5x telephoto. Plus, each screen has an 8Mp selfie camera, mainly for video calls – as the foldable design means it’s easy to use the more powerful rear camera for selfie shots.
In terms of software, the phone runs HarmonyOS 3.1 from the company. This isn’t technically Android and doesn’t support Google apps, although the look will be familiar if you’ve used an older Huawei Android device.
For more alternatives, check out the best smartphones we currently recommend, as well as the best new phones coming in 2023.
