Huawei has introduced the worldwide launch of its newest flagship folding telephone, the Mate X6. It comes sizzling on the heels of the huge dual-hinged Mate XT, and whereas this one retains issues somewhat extra conventional, it’s clear that the 2 telephones share some DNA.
This telephone can also be extremely slim, measuring simply 4.6mm thick when unfolded. It’s not fairly as slim as Honor’s Magic V3 (4.4mm when closed), however it’s fairly shut. The general design may be very harking back to Huawei’s tri-fold behemoth too, particularly within the signature purple vegan leather-based end.
If the purple mannequin is somewhat too daring on your tastes, there’s additionally a extra delicate black model with an analogous vegan leather-based end, or a singular gray possibility that comes with a swirly sample on its composite fibre rear. All of them look moderately fetching, for my part, they usually really feel very premium within the hand.
Luke Baker
Huawei says its aim with this telephone is to create a foldable with out the standard drawbacks. Meaning together with a shocking digital camera system, long-lasting battery, class-leading sturdiness and nice efficiency.
The whole lot however the kitchen sink
Within the digital camera division, we get a trio of lenses on the rear. There’s a 40Mp ultrawide, 48Mp 4x telephoto with macro capturing capabilities, and a 50Mp essential digital camera with variable aperture.
The latter can swap from f/1.4 to f/4.0 in ten increments, similar to the Pura 70 Extremely, and it’s the primary folding telephone to launch globally with an adjustable aperture. The one different telephone to boast one is the aforementioned Mate XT – which is solely accessible in China.
There’s one other first right here: the addition of an Extremely Chroma color sensor. Primarily, this new sensor goals to tremendously enhance the color accuracy of images, making them look extra like what you see in actual life. Huawei confirmed us some examples subsequent to pictures from an iPhone 16 Professional Max and Galaxy S24 Extremely, and the distinction was instantly noticeable.
Luke Baker
In fact, they have been cherry-picked examples, and we’ll want to check for ourselves to see how a lot of a distinction it makes in the actual world. Because it stands, I’ve solely had the possibility to snap a few images in an workplace setting.
One factor I used to be in a position to check was the macro-focusing capabilities of the telephoto lens. I couldn’t take the images away with me, so that you’ll need to take my phrase for it, however this factor is sort of a microscope. It’s the one telephone I’ve tried that comes near matching the Pura 70 Extremely with its close-focusing capabilities, and it’s actually spectacular to see this tech arrive on a foldable.
Huawei additionally has a trick up its sleeve for avid macro shooters. They’re calling it eDOF (prolonged depth of area), which is principally a fast and simple model of the main target stacking approach that skilled macro photographers use.
Luke Baker
Usually, once you take an excessive close-up, your focal aircraft might be extraordinarily slim. So a part of your topic might be pin sharp, whereas the remaining turns into blurry and defocused. The eDOF mode could make your complete object sharp by combining images taken at totally different focus factors. All of it occurs immediately, on the contact of a button, and appears to work flawlessly.
Relating to shows, you get a 6.4-inch 120Hz LTPO panel on the skin with a 2.4k decision and a peak brightness of 2500 nits. On the within, the 7.93-inch foldable show has nearly the identical specs however it’s not fairly as vivid, topping out at 1800 nits. The crease is impressively shallow too, simply rivalling the likes of Honor and Vivo.
Powering the machine is a large 5110 mAh battery, and it helps very quick charging. You possibly can juice it up at 66W with a wire or at a staggering 50W wirelessly, although you’ll want a particular Huawei wi-fi charger for the latter.
The large disadvantage
So, this telephone feels like a little bit of a winner, proper? Nicely, sadly, it’s not all excellent news. Huawei hasn’t talked about the processor, which nearly actually means it’s utilizing an SMIC-produced Kirin chip. It received’t be dangerous, I’m certain, however it’s most unlikely to rival the most recent chips from MediaTek and Qualcomm.
Luke Baker
Then there’s the software program. When you’ve been maintaining with Huawei for the previous couple of years, this received’t be information to you, however US sanctions imply that there’s no help for Google companies on Huawei’s EMUI working system. In fact, there are workarounds, however most individuals aren’t going to need the trouble.
So, does that imply the Mate X6 is a non-starter? That’s the burning query, and it’s laborious to say proper now. The Pura 70 Extremely blew my thoughts with its photographic capabilities earlier this 12 months, and it seems just like the Mate X6 might be set to do the identical. I’m wanting ahead to spending some extra time with this machine and discovering out for myself.
Alongside the Mate X6, Huawei additionally unveiled its new flagship earbuds, the FreeBuds Professional 4, which boast spectacular AI noise cancellation for telephone calls in addition to 24-bit lossless audio help (however solely when paired with a Huawei telephone).
It additionally confirmed off the Nova 13 higher mid-range handsets, which include twin selfie snappers for social media addicts. The 12 months could also be drawing to a detailed, however Huawei remains to be firing on all cylinders.
All three merchandise are anticipated to be accessible within the UK and Europe, however not the US as standard. Nonetheless, pricing and launch date info is but to be revealed.
Will the Mate X6 be a real contender for one of the best foldable telephone? Time will inform.