In this hands-on we discuss our first experiences with the luxurious Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design. The device has the largest screen ever in a smartphone and includes two hinges to unfold it.
Dit is de Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design
Just five years ago, Huawei launched the Mate X in its home country China. It was the first foldable of the company and a year later the Mate XS appeared in Europe. We have of course tested this extensively and we are now several years further. The Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design was recently presented as the world’s first smartphone with two hinges. In practice, this means that you can unfold it into a tablet with a size of more than 10 inches.
For the time being, the Mate XT is only for sale in China and whether we will see it in Europe at all remains to be seen. Still, Huawei Netherlands invited us to take a look. Of course we didn’t let ourselves be told that twice and so we traveled to the head office in Rijswijk. We were able to view the black version of the Mate XT, but it is also available in red with gold accents.
Clap your hands
When folded, the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design is only 12.8 millimeters thick, which is quite impressive. When you use it fully folded, it’s just like having a normal smartphone in your hands. The screen size is 6.4 inches and that is good for normal use. You have to take into account the considerable weight of just under 300 grams.
You can also unfold the device, so you use two of the three screen parts. Then you are dealing with the same form factor as that of, for example, the OnePlus Open, Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold or Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6. This way you can see even more content, you can zoom in better on photos and enjoy videos. However, it is still the case that you have to deal with black bars when watching a movie.
Not a fan of that? Then you simply unfold the last part, so you can get started with a screen of no less than 10.2 inches. In this mode you obviously need two hands to operate the device. You can see the two folds and you can also feel them when you wipe over them.
You don’t have to have any doubts about the strength of the Mate XT, provided you use it normally. The hinges are very stiffly adjusted and the phone feels sturdy when unfolded. If you use two thirds of the display, part of the device is twice as thick to hold – and that feels a bit strange.
Chinese hardware and software
There is a self-developed Kirin chip in the Mate XT. We didn’t look extensively at the performance of this processor, but during our hands-on period everything felt smooth. You can easily multitask and switch between apps, but also use applications in floating windows.
You can choose from different models in terms of RAM and storage and there are three cameras on the back. We took a quick look at it and the photos looked good at first glance. This involves a 50-megapixel main camera and two 12-megapixel lenses. One of them takes photos at a wider angle, the other is used to zoom in. All in all, a complete set of cameras for a foldable.
The software is also something that we have not looked at in detail, simply because it was a Chinese model. For the video we enabled the English language, but the Chinese language was still visible here and there. We hardly need to mention it anymore, but Google apps and services are missing.
However, it is possible to install Google apps in a roundabout way. With the test model we could also ‘normally’ work with Google Chrome, YouTube, Maps or, for example, Gmail. You can also download WhatsApp and Instagram via a detour, but this requires technical knowledge.
Conclusion: innovation still costs a lot of money
This Huawei Mate XT is the first smartphone with a double hinge, where you fold open the three screen parts into a real tablet. It will not stop there in the coming years, because it is mentioned in the corridors that more manufacturers are working on devices with a similar design.
We can only embrace that, because it means that such smartphones will only get better. However, you have to take into account even higher prices than the current folding devices. The Mate XT can be purchased in China from the equivalent of 2,500 euros, and that would be a lot higher in Europe.
Let’s look back at this hands-on in about two or three years’ time to see where we are at that moment, because that may have gone very quickly.
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Source: www.androidplanet.nl
