During a trip to China, we had the chance to try out the Huawei Mate XT, the first smartphone to fold in three. Enough to really transform it into a tablet. A mind-blowing experience!
The announcement of the Huawei Mate XT has made the heads of the most tech-savvy among us turn. It is the first mass-produced smartphone to feature a tri-fold screen.
This is a real technological showcase for Huawei, which only markets this product in China. During a trip to the country, Arnaud Gelineau, head of the video division of Frandroidwas able to try out the smartphone.
“He’s mega fine”
The Huawei Mate XT is not yet available, even in China. The brand is just starting to display it under glass in its stores. However, it can offer preview tests of the phone to future buyers or… to slightly insistent travelers. This was the case for Arnaud who managed to get a few minutes of testing with the smartphone.
What is immediately impressive is the finesse of the product. He is mega thin “, Arnaud describes to us during a telephone conversation.
The Huawei Mate XT rivals the already impressive Honor Magic V3 in this respect. Completely folded, in “smartphone mode”, the Huawei Mate XT “ is barely as thick as a Galaxy S24 Ultra “, a classic smartphone therefore. The technological tour de force is there.
What is it for?
Beyond the technological prowess, is there a use for a smartphone that folds into three? The answer seems to be an obvious yes for Arnaud. Indeed, unlike the Galaxy Z Fold, a fully unfolded Huawei Mate XT offers a wide “16/9” screen that will be ideal for consuming video.
« I really felt like I had an iPad in front of me, especially since unlike the Galaxy Z Fold, the Huawei Mate XT can be used vertically or horizontally, like a real tablet. “. The entire interface adapts properly to take full advantage of the display surface. ” This is clearly what the iPad Pro of the future should look like ».
Far from having the impression of having a prototype in front of you, the hinge seems perfectly solid and the finishes very successful.
« I really feel like I have my own little pocket cinema. »
Arnaud
The folding and unfolding system seems very well thought out and offers an intermediate “Galaxy Fold” mode, when only one flap is folded. The strength of the Huawei Mate XT is also to integrate a single screen. Indeed, once folded, the folding screen acts as an external screen. This reduces the level of complexity of the product compared to smartphones of the genre.
A glimpse into the future
As you can see, Arnaud seems to have been completely blown away by his test of the Huawei Mate XT. However, not everything was perfect. The creases are still visible and felt, even if less than on Samsung smartphones.
The fact remains that for the moment this is just a glimpse of the future. The product is still inaccessible, even in China where it is only available for reservation. It is also an overpriced smartphone, at more than 2800 euros excluding VAT once the conversion is done.
In the meantime, this sheds light on a possible future for the smartphone and the tablet. A junction point where the two devices could merge without too many compromises.
Source: www.frandroid.com
