Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Huawei Mate X vs. Samsung Galaxy Fold: Which one should you save up for?

It's 2019, and foldable phones are finally a thing. These crazy, wacky devices sure are something to behold, and we're going hands-on with as many of them as possible to help you decide if any are worth your hard-earned money.

Huawei Mate X

A work of art

$2,600 at Huawei

Pros

  • Much larger outer display
  • 8-inch tablet display
  • 5G included by default
  • 55W fast-charging

Cons

  • It costs $2,600 💀
  • Unlikely U.S. availability

Whether you're using it in phone or tablet mode, the Huawei Mate X is absolutely stunning to look at. Outfitted with a huge AMOLED display, powerful Kirin processor, 5G connectivity, and industry-leading charging speeds, this really is a phone from the future. We just wish Huawei would bring it to the U.S.

Samsung Galaxy Fold

Coming to the U.S.

$1,980 at Samsung

Pros

  • Has 6 cameras
  • Wireless charging
  • Over $600 cheaper
  • Galaxy Buds included

Cons

  • HUGE bezels around the outer display
  • Smaller tablet display
  • Still pretty expensive

Samsung's Galaxy Fold was the first major foldable phone to be announced and likely will be the first of its kind to launch in the U.S. It uses separate displays (one on the outside, one on the inside), a 7nm processor, and has a total of six cameras. You also get free Galaxy Buds headphones included with your purchase.

The Huawei Mate X and Samsung Galaxy Fold — two of the world's first foldable smartphones — take two very different approaches to the foldable niche that'll likely draw their own groups of fans and critics. If you're really considering buying one of these two phones, however, your decision may ultimately come down to where you live.

Which foldable phone is for you may depend on geography more than taste

We've been dreaming of foldable phones for years now, and thanks to devices like the Huawei Mate X and Samsung Galaxy Fold, it looks like 2019 is the year in which these unicorn gadgets finally become a reality. There's still a lot we don't know about both of these phones. But even so, there are already a few early pieces of advice we can give.

For starters, and perhaps the most important, the foldable phone you start saving your money for will ultimately come down to where in the world you live.

Samsung has confirmed that it's bringing the Galaxy Fold to the United States on April 26, whereas the Huawei Mate X will likely never be sold in America. If you live in the U.S., that probably just helped you decide right there.

Innie or Outie?

Looking at the devices themselves, the biggest difference between the two is how the folding mechanism works. On the Galaxy Fold, Samsung's using what we're calling an "innie" design. That's to say you open up the phone to access its large 7.3-inch tablet display. And when it's closed, it's hidden inside the chassis, and you interact with a separate 4.6-inch phone screen.

Looking at the Huawei Mate X and its "outie" form factor, there's one single display panel that wraps around the entire phone's body. When it's closed together, you're using a large 6.6-inch screen with the other half hidden behind it. Open it up, and the entire panel is revealed and gives you access to a huge 8-inch canvas.

Huawei Mate X Samsung Galaxy Fold
Phone Display 6.6-inch
OLED
2480 x 1148
18.5:9
4.6-inch
Super AMOLED
21:9
Tablet Display 8-inch
2480 x 2200
OLED
8:7.1
7.3-inch
Dynamic AMOLED
4.2:3
Processor 7nm Kirin 980 7nm 64-bit octa-core
RAM 8GB 12GB
Storage 512GB 512GB
Cameras 40MP Wide Angle Camera
16MP Ultra Wide Angle Camera
8MP Telephoto Camera
10MP Selfie Camera
10MP Selfie Camera
8MP RGB Depth Camera
12MP Telephoto Camera
12MP Wide Angle Camera
16MP Ultra Wide Camera
Battery 4,500 mAh 4,380 mAh
Charging 55W Huawei SuperCharge Fast wired and wireless charging
Operating System Android 9 Pie Android 9 Pie

As for the smaller differences, there are a lot of them.

The Galaxy Fold has a total of six cameras, and the Huawei Mate X has only three. The Mate X has an impressive 8GB of RAM, but the Galaxy Fold has even more at 12GB. Samsung's going to offer the Galaxy Fold in 4G LTE and 5G variants, but the Mate X is only a 5G device. You get wireless charging on the Galaxy Fold, but only the Mate X comes with Huawei SuperCharge that can deliver up to an 85% charge in just 30 minutes.

Each of those specs will mean something different to everyone reading this, but for a device of such a new form factor, they're pretty trivial in the grand scheme of things. What really matters here is which phone is available where you live and what type of folding you prefer.

Then there's the software to consider

Both phones ship with Android 9 Pie, with the Galaxy Fold running Samsung's One UI while the Mate X boasts the Huawei EMUI interface. We'll need to sit down with each phone for a while to really get a feel for how the software works with the whole folding thing, but if we were to make a bet right now, we're inclined to say that Samsung's Galaxy Fold will be better in these regards.

EMUI has always been kind of quirky even with regular Android phones, so we're a bit concerned for how that'll translate to a foldable device. Samsung will likely have its own issues to work out, but based on what we've seen so far, it looks like a fairly smooth and polished experience.

How much are you willing to spend?

We were pretty shocked to see the Galaxy Fold announced with its steep $1,980 price tag, but after learning that the Mate X will cost a staggering $2,600, Samsung's phone seems like a bargain.

We aren't sure what Huawei will do (if anything) to add to the value of the Mate X, but Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy Fold will come with premium packaging, a free case, and its Galaxy Buds wireless earbuds that typically sell for $130.

Huawei Mate X

A work of art

$2,600 at Huawei

Huawei's foldable debut is damn impressive.

The Huawei Mate X is ridiculously expensive and a device a lot of people probably won't ever buy, but man oh man does it have us excited. Its design is one of the best we've ever seen in the foldable form factor and is filled with impressive specs. Unfortunately, it probably won't ever come to the U.S.

Samsung Galaxy Fold

Coming to the U.S.

The most mainstream foldable phone yet.

$1,980 at Samsung

Samsung's Galaxy Fold may not look as impressive as the Huawei Mate X, but its gorgeous 7.3-inch AMOLED tablet display, 12GB of RAM, and total of 6 cameras have us giddy to get our hands on it. It's still really expensive, but it's actually coming to the States and is bundled with free Galaxy Buds to try and offset the exorbitant cost.



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