Huawei Mate X: Worrying news for fans of the Samsung Galaxy Fold rival
Huawei had planned to launch its new Mate X foldable in June, but now those ambitious plans have been put on ice. Will it ever see the light of day?
Huawei have announced that the Mate X is now scheduled for release in September rather than June. According to CNBC, the Chinese firm have decided to be more cautious in the wake of the problems faced by the Samsung Galaxy Fold, with a spokesman saying: “We don’t want to launch a product to destroy our reputation.” Is this an ominous indication that Huawei’s device has struggled with similar quality control issues?
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For context, Samsung announced the Galaxy Fold in April, and distributed sample handsets for reviews shortly after. Yet within days, several of the brand new devices had been badly compromised with screen problems. This was partly explained by some journalists peeling back the protective film, but that didn’t explain every case of malfunctioning. Samsung quickly cancelled the release in order to fully investigate the problems, and we still don’t know when or if the device will ever return. It’s very worrying news that Huawei also fear a similar embarrassment, and has even delayed its own product launch in response.
When we tried out the Mate X first-hand we were very impressed with its potential, looking and feeling much more like a finished product in comparison to the Galaxy Fold. The screen impressed us despite being made of plastic, and internally it boasts the Kirin 980 chipset and a 4500mAh battery. Significantly, it is also intended to have 5G connectivity which supposedly would let you download a 1GB movie in just three seconds.
The delayed release date is yet another setback for Huawei, who were recently banned from registering new smartphones with Google’s Android OS, and from building chips with ARM tech. The company is in a battle for its future, and this latest news hardly helps.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
